Chapter 26: Legacy Hall

  An elegant pavilion-like structure stood tall in front of Damon. He looked up at the multiple stories of the grandiose building without any reaction. By now, he had seen so many incredible sights, a mere hall no longer seemed special. The large sign above the main doors read ‘Legacy Hall’.

  Damon had promptly accepted the mission as soon as he saw it. He could not think of a better task for himself currently. He could earn merits while also studying new runes or arts. As the location of the job was at the Legacy Hall, he could also inquire about a new cultivation manual of a higher tier while he was working there. Everything seemed to align perfectly. He was uncertain how such a rewarding position was still available.

  “So, this is the Legacy Hall. The attendant at the Mission Hall told me to run over immediately as soon as I accepted the mission. I’m not sure why they’re in such a rush…” Damon muttered to himself as he entered the building.

  Once inside, Damon saw a large room filled with countless shelves of books. Although the ceiling was not very high, every bookshelf was floor-to-ceiling and did not waste any space. He expected to see many books and tomes, but there were even more than his imagination. There were even piles of them on the ground in random aisles between the shelves. It seemed the management of the Legacy Hall was very inadequate.

  There was a reception desk right next to the entrance, but it was currently empty. Damon stood by this desk and looked around for a few more minutes before finally becoming impatient.

  “Hello? Is anyone here? I’ve just accepted the scribe mission from the Mission Hall…”

  As Damon was yelling, hurried footsteps could be heard coming from further within the room. Due to the maze of bookshelves, Damon did not have a direct line of sight to where the noise was coming from. After a minute or two, a dusty and scruffy old man ran out. He had completely white hair and beard, wearing what looked to be common cotton clothing, rather than the Academy’s robes. His disorganized hair and attire made it look as though he had just woken up from his slumber.

  “Welcome! Welcome! You are the new apprentice tasked with cleaning, I mean, transcribing some books, yes? What is your name? Quick, come in and have a seat…” The old man started welcoming Damon before looking around the area to discover there was only one chair for the reception desk. “There are some seats further within. Come, come!”

  The old man ushered him further into the hall, similar to a desperate merchant leading a wealthy customer into his shop. Damon was slightly unnerved at the respect and deference shown to him by the old man. This was due to the unkempt and ragged senior leaking the energy levels far beyond the Node Awakening realm. Even the Channel Weaving Disciple he had battled had a weaker force. The only ones who had a similarly oppressive and powerful energy were the three adepts he had seen at the Arcane Tower of Argent Flame.

  This old grandpa is definitely a Circuit Completion Adept! Why is he being so accommodating toward me? What’s going on?

  Damon cautiously followed behind the old man. Although he did not fear that anything bad would happen within the Academy, he spread out his Mindsense as a precaution. As they were navigating through the Hall, Damon glanced around and saw the chaos grow much worse. Books were stacked in tall, wobbly towers, ancient scrolls were rolling around on the ground or flattened under books, and a gray blanket of dust coated everything in sight, as though it had not been disturbed by time since they were placed there.

  After walking through the maze of shelves for a few minutes, they finally arrived at a small clearing next to a spiral staircase. There was a small square table with four chairs tucked in, one for each side. After taking their seats, the old man waved his arm over the table, causing a tea set to appear.

  The old man began warming up the teapot with a small conjured flame. As he began to speak, he unleashed the full strength of his power. The wave of power flooded the room, causing the previously friendly and genial atmosphere to vanish. “Young man, I do not know what kind of unique ability you are using to probe me, but you need to be careful using such techniques in the future. With such a large difference in our cultivation realms, I will obviously sense it when you blatantly test me out. If I were the type to be easily offended, I may have punished you for such actions.”

  Damon felt the heavy pressure pressing down on his entire body, causing him to feel as though he were drowning. Unable to even breathe, his mind reeled in distress and disbelief. Wait, did the old man perceive my Mindsense? Nobody else had been able to do so before. This intense pressure that is bearing down on me… I haven’t felt this suffocated before. The energy fluctuations I felt before from the Adepts… That must have just been their natural power emissions, not their true strength. As he said, the drastic difference in power will allow Adepts to notice my Mindsense. I need to be more careful with when and how I use it in the future.

  The pressure suddenly disappeared, just as quickly as it had come. The old man was currently pouring tea into two cups. Damon could finally breathe again. However, he could no longer treat this old man lightly. Not after that show of force.

  “I apologize, Sir…” Damon hastily responded before realizing he did not know the old man’s name.

  “I am Tidus. You can call me Hall Leader Tidus. I am the Legacy Hall Leader, though that is only in name due to being unable to find a suitable replacement for many decades. What is your name, young friend?” Tidus responded as he drank a sip of his tea.

  Damon looked down at the tea in the cup handed to him by Tidus. It appeared to be a type of black tea. He also took a sip of the tea. It tasted slightly bitter but had a strong, earthy aroma to it, making it seem natural and fresh.

  “My name is Damon Fletcher. Hall Leader Tidus, I rushed over here immediately after accepting the inscription mission because they told me to. Is there a reason for the urgency?” Damon asked.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Oh, that… Well, you see… The Legacy Hall doesn’t have any staff currently. It’s been several years since the last time someone applied for a post here. As the mission stated, you will have some custodian duties alongside the scribe duties…” Tidus beat around the bush for a while before getting to the main point. He handed Damon a thick scroll. Upon unraveling the scroll, Damon saw a list composed of dozens of books.

  “Your mission is to write 10 copies of each of the books on this list. During the process of completing this mission, you are permitted to freely browse through all the books in the bottom two floors of the Hall! Usually, it will cost an apprentice many merit points to just browse through the books within the Hall, requiring even more to actually purchase a copy to take out. It’s a great perk, don’t you think?” Tidus cajoled with a smile.

  Damon sat in silence as he contemplated Tidus’s words. Indeed, it seemed like a great perk, being able to read through any of the books he wanted. However, something did not seem quite right with the way Tidus was trying to persuade him. Tidus was acting TOO polite and kind to him.

  “Hall Leader Tidus… Do you have these books set aside for me to find? Or is there a form of classification system or organizational arrangement for me to follow within the Hall?”

  “Oh, that. The bottom two floors are specifically filled only with books of the lower tier. Only Initiates and Disciples would visit these floors. The upper floors are for Circuit Completion Adepts and above. I personally manage these, so you need not worry about them.” Tidus replied matter-of-factly.

  Damon continued to stare at Tidus quietly. Tidus was sipping on his tea while avoiding Damon’s gaze. Damon was growing increasingly suspicious about the duplicity of the mission

  “Hall Leader Tidus, I mean… How am I supposed to find the books on the list in this… maze?” Damon asked with narrowed eyes.

  “Ahem! So, you see… The mission did state that it came with some custodian duties… You’ll just have to organize the Legacy Hall as you look for the books on the list! It’s as simple as that! Haha… ha… ha…” After saying that, Tidus forced out a hollow laugh.

  “Right, but will I be receiving more merit points for the additional duty?”

  “Well, the mission was only rewarding merit points per copied book, so… No. The additional task is something that needs to be done to complete the mission anyway. Still, you get the benefit of free browsing! It’s still worthwhile, is it not? Besides, you have already accepted the long-term mission, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to abandon it and take up a new mission for the next year.” Tidus continued to avoid looking directly at Damon and seemed to be closely examining a landscape painting hung on the wall as he explained the situation.

  Damon finally realized exactly what was going on. He had been scammed! Who would be able to find the required books in the hundreds of thousands of books scattered everywhere across the Hall with no rhyme or reason! They expected him to work on categorizing and organizing all these books for free.

  Damon buried his face in his hands in frustration. However, he immediately reconsidered the situation. A crafty glint flashed in his eyes. Actually, this might not be such a bad thing for me. With my Mindsense, I’ll be able to quickly sift through all the books and form a classification system with just a bit of effort. In exchange for this work, I actually have completely free access to all the books within the first two tiers. It’s not just worthwhile… This is actually a massive windfall!

  Tidus noticed Damon silently hunched over the table, holding his head in his hands. He could see Damon’s shoulders trembling. Assuming this was Damon having a mental breakdown from the scam… No, the difficulty of the mission. He decided he needed to finish the handoff quickly and escape back to his quarters upstairs.

  “Anyway, that is how it is. Hand over your communication orb so I can leave my arcane mark in it. That way, you can contact me whenever you are finished with copying one of the books on the list. I will reward you with your well-deserved merit points then.”

  Damon looked up from his position, with a depressed and tragic look displayed on his face. With teary eyes and a deep frown, Damon replied, “Hall Leader, actually, I… I only officially joined the academy today… I don’t even have a communication orb… Also, my Arcane Node is severely injured due to overburdening it during a life-or-death battle in the wilderness against a wicked cultivator… How will I cultivate in the future if I can’t gain the merits to buy medicine…”

  Tidus froze in place when he saw Damon’s expression and his words. Indeed, perhaps the mission he had assigned was a bit too shady and dishonest. Feeling a bit apologetic toward Damon, Tidus decided to see if he could help relieve the young man’s current predicament. Yet, at the back of his mind, there was a different thought. If I don’t give this boy a little benefit, he might just wait out the whole year and then cancel the mission. The previous two apprentices did just that! The clutter will continue to get worse, and the Wardens will punish me at the decennial elders meeting!

  Tidus’s eyes began to glow with a bright purple light. Little flickers of purple lightning could be seen discharging from this light. Tidus inspected Damon’s internal condition, upon which he gasped in shock. Damon’s Arcane Node was riddled with so many cracks that it was a miracle that it had not completely shattered.

  However, as a late stage Circuit Completion Adept who had survived for close to a millennium, Tidus had plenty of medicines that could treat Damon. Though they were incredibly valuable to an Initiate, they were not all that valuable to him. He could spare a few for this obedient and respectful apprentice, who would help him clean up the Legacy Hall. The time saved from not cleaning up the Hall himself would be worth the cost of the medicine. He withdrew three vials and a crystal orb from his storage pouch before handing them over to Damon.

  “I have inspected your injuries. You must have experienced a grueling battle for it to have become so damaged. These three vials contain a special panacea called the Arcane Rejuvenation Potion. They are a type of elixir specifically designed to help heal injuries to the Arcane Node. Use one per month until it completely heals. Try not to use any arcane power during this period. The inferior versions already cost dozens of merit points for one vial. Consider yourself lucky, as I am feeling quite benevolent today.

  “This orb is an unbound communication orb. Once you place your arcane mark within, it will be bound to you until you either perish or the mark is purged using a purification spell.”

  Damon grew ecstatic upon receiving the items. He bowed deeply toward Tidus and thanked him profusely. He then bound the orb to himself before handing it over to Tidus to place his arcane mark in. After completing the handoff, Tidus finally stood up and climbed the stairs with his back straight and tall. He decided he could now act like the mighty Adept he was. He smiled as he ascended the floors, no longer feeling guilty about deceiving the new apprentice with his duplicitous mission.

  Damon was still seated at the table on the bottom floor. He had a smug smile on his face as he glanced down at the three vials of clear liquid in his hands.

  You want to scam me? Two can play at that game.