Shane had never seen soone so shaless.
What kind of "very powerful mage" introduces himself like that? Who does that?
And trying to poach my teammate right in front of ? Looks like this brat needs a lesson.
"No."
Before Shane could even open his mouth to fire back, Frieren answered concisely from the side, rejecting him outright.
The blond boy froze for a mont. Thinking Frieren hadn't understood him, he raised his hand and summoned a staff, repeating himself, "I really am a very powerful mage. Teaming up with won't be a loss for you. And I don't want gold or treasure—everything in the dungeon can be yours. How about it? Sounds like a great deal, right?"
He was very confident.
But Frieren was even more so. "No."
The blond boy bristled again. For a split second, Shane even felt like he was about to swing his staff.
But miraculously, he held himself back.
"Think about it, Frieren. As long as we team up, we can easily clear a dungeon at the level of the Inverted Land. This is a perfect chance to beco famous. By then, everyone in Gostan City will be praising our deeds! Hey, are you even listening to …?"
Frieren walked straight past the chattering blond boy, completely ignoring him.
Shane almost laughed.
A chance to beco famous?
That was probably the one thing Frieren needed the least.
Sotis, you just had to admit—eloquence wasn't sothing everyone possessed.
As Shane passed the frazzled boy, he gave him a look full of sympathy.
…
After finally shaking off the troubleso guy, Shane couldn't help but laugh.
Frieren looked at him, puzzled by his sudden amusent.
"I just rembered when I first invited you to form a party. So, do you regret teaming up with soone like —'good for nothing except being handso'?"
Frieren's expression remained calm as she replied, "You're not good for nothing. You're brave when facing monsters, and when we run into trouble, you always co up with a solution quickly. You're a reliable teammate."
Shane, who had only been joking to lighten the mood, froze for two seconds when he heard Frieren's serious praise. His heart suddenly felt warm.
Even if she was an emotionally dense elf, her judgnt was spot on.
"Most importantly, you said you would provide travel funds," Frieren added.
She held out a small hand toward him. "Now then, sponsor of this journey, please give so silver coins."
"…"
That last reason really didn't need to be said.
From reliable teammate to "walking wallet"—how did his status keep dropping?
"You're going to keep your word, right?" Frieren asked.
"…"
Why did this feel like he'd just been cornered?
A man's honor couldn't be questioned!
With a sigh, Shane reached into his pocket, pulled sothing out, and placed it in Frieren's hand.
"Here."
!!!
The mont she saw what it was, Frieren's eyes widened.
Shane snorted proudly.
Knew you'd like it.
Easy.
[Gostan City Grand Library Half-Price Coupon (Unlimited Use Storewide)]
It was one of the rewards he had just received from the city hall.
Frieren stared at the coupon, her eyes practically glowing.
"Can we use it right now?"
Right now?
Shane glanced at the setting sun. It was already close to evening—if they went now, the library would probably close soon.
But before he could object, Frieren had already grabbed the coupon and teleported to the next street corner.
"Hey, stop hesitating. Let's go."
"…"
Shane shook his head and followed helplessly.
————
Gostan City Grand Library.
Located slightly north of the city center, it was a circular marble building with a dod roof, carrying a strong charm of the ancient Roman era.
The receptionist was a white-haired old man.
After briefly explaining the different sections of books, he returned to his seat and resud reading.
Frieren headed straight for the grimoire section, happily browsing. In no ti, she had already stacked two or three books in her arms.
The petite elf carried magic books larger than her face, swaying as she walked.
From behind, she looked like a clumsy little penguin.
Seeing how excited she was, Shane figured she wouldn't stop until she had picked at least ten or twenty books.
So he headed to the magic history section himself.
His gaze swept across the shelves, searching for any clues about that "mad sage," Sharl.
"The Unified Empire era…"
"Sage…"
From ti to ti, he pulled out a book, flipped through the table of contents, and after confirming it wasn't what he needed, moved on to the next.
Thanks to the boost from [Accelerated Thinking], his ability to comprehend these dense texts had improved significantly.
But even so, searching through this ocean of books still felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.
The setting sun shone through the windows, casting the last traces of light into the room. Tiny dust particles floated visibly in the beams.
Shane pulled out a thick black book with gilded edges titled History of Continental Magic. A section in the table of contents—"Court Sages"—caught his attention. He quickly flipped to the page, and the very first line made cold sweat break out on his back:
'During the Unified Empire era, in order to strengthen its power and accelerate its southern expansion, the Empire established the position of Court Sage in addition to Court Mage.'
Court Mages were originally founded by Frieren's teacher, Flam, the progenitor of human magic.
The first generation of Court Mages were almost all Flam's disciples.
It was precisely through these pioneers that magic spread rapidly across the human world, continuously evolving and surpassing other races, becoming sothing uniquely dominant.
Unlike Court Mages, Court Sages were not trained—they were recruited from all over.
These brilliant scholars gathered together to provide stronger equipnt and armor for both mages and ordinary soldiers, allowing the Empire to crush its enemies more efficiently during its expansion.
"Alchemy, forging… all normal enough… wait!"
Shane's finger traced along the page as his brows slowly furrowed.
"…As the Empire expanded and continued to win wars, the royal family and nobility grew increasingly decadent, giving rise to a pursuit of immortality. The research focus of the Court Sages shifted from war support to the exploration of immortality magic. During this ti, Sage Sharl discovered a set of revolutionary magical theories within the notes left behind by the Great Sage Ewig of the Mythical Era, sparking widespread discussion among the sages."
The record ended abruptly there.
Shane hurriedly flipped to the next page—nothing.
Another page—still nothing.
That single paragraph was the only ntion of Sharl in the entire History of Continental Magic.
Unwilling to give up, he grabbed several more books about the Unified Empire period. Aside from ntioning the title "Court Sages," none of them contained any further information about "Sage Sharl."
Shane leaned against the bookshelf, feeling a bit dejected.
Humanity's ultimate victory?
Immortality?
The Mythical Era?
The notes of Great Sage Ewig?
These scattered terms churned together in his mind like a tangled ss.
Just what was that mad sage planning?
Just as his head felt like it was about to explode, a faintly smug hum ca from behind him.
"Shane, look what I found."
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