Roland simply listened to him.
He wouldn’t be interested if an ordinary woman was gossiping, but as one of the most powerful people in the capital and a relative to the royal family, Antis knew a lot of important information.
Delpon was a base in Roland’s plan, and Hollevin would be the country where Roland’s dream would take off in the future.
The more he learned about the forces in the capital, the better. The knowledge might come in handy someday.
Antis talked a lot. He was one of the most excellent people in the capital among his peers, and he was very good-looking too. He was a rarely-seen genius.
As a man who was capable and from a noble background, Antis was proud and had little respect for his peers in the capital.
In his eyes, none of his peers in the capital were capable of fighting except Andonara. But Andonara was from a humble family. He never considered her equal to himself even though he liked her.
He even despised Dinah, who was a Saint Samurai.
A Saint Samurai who made little progress was as good as a piece of garbage.
She was a waste of the Goddess of Light’s blessing.
At this moment, Roland, a peer who had gotten in touch with him several times, became his friend.
More importantly, Roland was smart and talented.
Besides, Roland was neither arrogant nor modest and treated nobles and civilians equally. Antis thought that it was good to make friends with him, even though he could be troublesome.
Antis had barely talked to anyone of his age, so it was inevitable that he became too talkative now that he found a friend.
He rambled on for three hours without stopping. Then, realizing that it was late, he stood up, not fully satisfied, and said coldly, “All in all, the situation in the capital is very complicated. What I just said is only scraping the surface. You’d better not come here often if you don’t have to.”
“Got it.” Roland gave him a promise and then said, “Who’s in charge of the Association of Mages now that Tobian is gone?”
“I’m temporarily in charge of it. Until a suitable candidate is found, the position of General Chairman will be vacant.”
Roland suddenly thought of something. “Can I visit the library at the headquarters?”
“You can.” Antis threw an iron badge to him and said, “Just don’t take any books. Remember, you owe me one.”
Then, he turned around and left.
Roland picked up the badge and waved at Antis’ back. “Thanks, bro.”
There was no telling how the sentence was translated by Language Proficiency, but Antis almost tripped over. He turned back and glared at Roland, before he walked away at a higher speed.
Roland paid the bill, which was almost seven gold coins. It was really expensive.
In this most luxurious tavern, everything was the best in Hollevin, so their prices were high.
As an ordinary person, Roland couldn’t tell if the wine was good. He merely thought that the tavern was decorated too cheesy although it looked splendid at first glance.
That couldn’t be helped. The people of two different worlds naturally had different aesthetics.
Holding Antis’ badge, Roland went to the headquarters.
Earlier, it had been soldiers in black leather armor who guarded this place, but they were replaced by elite royal guards in silver armor.
They must be the personal guards from Antis’ family.
Roland showed them the black iron badge, and two guards let him through expressionlessly.
Crossing a long aisle, Roland arrived at the depths of the headquarters. He didn’t encounter any Mages although he saw many soldiers.
Roland thought that the Mages at the headquarters had been kicked out, but after he entered the library, he found six Mages reading books.
Hearing the entrance of a newcomer, they nodded at Roland slightly, before they devoted themselves to their books again.
No wonder Antis gave him a badge so quickly. As it turned out, some other Mages must’ve asked for permission to come here too.
Roland suddenly felt that the favor that he owed Antis wasn’t worth it.
He subconsciously put on a bitter smile.
The library at the headquarters was much bigger than that in his Magic Tower, with a coverage at least ten times that of the library in Delpon.
Besides, the library had two floors, and each floor had more than three hundred bookcases that were at least three meters tall.
But of course, not all the books here were about magic.
Roland looked around and soon found a counter on the left side where a receptionist was seated.
He went to the receptionist and asked, “May I know where the magic models above level three are kept?”
He tried to lower his voice, but the library was too quiet, and the readers here were all Mages whose ears were keener than those of ordinary people whether or not they had specifically trained, so they all looked at him.
Roland thought that his voice interrupted them, so he made an apologetic gesture.
At this moment, the receptionist pointed at the north section on the second floor of the library respectfully.
Roland nodded at her gratefully and went to the second floor through the stairs quietly.
He found the section of magic models.
Another male Mage was already reading books in front of the bookshelf. When he heard Roland’s footsteps, he stepped aside and back without raising his head, making room for Roland to pick his book.
Roland gave him a quick glance and then focused his attention on the bookshelf.
All the other bookshelves were laden with books, but there were only six books on this one.
Roland grabbed a random book. It was a thin book with “Blind Vision” on the cover. He opened it and found that it indeed contained magic models and the author’s personal advice.
The tips weren’t much, but they could save a lot of the learners’ time.
Blind Vision could allow a spellcaster to see in the darkness. This was a special talent for certain special races, but for the Mages, it could be taken care of with a mid-level spell.
Also, Blind Vision was not appreciated among the Mages, because it was not nearly as useful as Mind Vision.
Eyes could be tricked easily, but the mind could hardly be.
Roland turned the pages and took pictures of the book with the camera function in the system.
Very soon, he put the book down and picked up another one.
He quickly skimmed through all the other five books, only to find that the six level-three spells were all ancillary spells including Direction, Mental Comfort, etc.
Every spell had its own value, but from a pragmatic point of view, Roland was only interested in Moderate Wound Healing.
Then, there was the last book.
Roland looked at the Mage who was standing at his side. He saw the cover of the book that the Mage was holding.
The cover said “Flashing Magic Ball.”
Roland’s eyes glittered, as it was clearly an offensive spell.
Though Roland knew a few useful offensive spells, including Prismatic Spray, Arcane Bullet, and Chain Lightning, those spells had their own drawbacks, and it would take very long for him to prepare before he could launch a Grand Fireball.
He was in dire need of a spell which was powerful and could be cast quickly.
A level-three offensive spell should be able to meet his demand.
As if he sensed Roland’s gaze, the Mage closed the book he was reading and turned to Roland.
His face was rather plain, but it couldn’t be helped. Most Mages had added their points to Intelligence. They didn’t have enough points for Charm.
Vivian was an exception. She was very pretty, so she was only mediocre in magic.
The male Mage looked at Roland up and down and asked, “You want to read my book?”
Roland nodded.
“You’ve read all of these?” The Mage pointed at the bookshelf.
“Yes.” Roland nodded again. “I have a special memory.”
“An eidetic memory.” The man clicked his tongue enviously. “You must be very gifted.”
It was well-known that memory was a sign of Intelligence. While the people with high Intelligence couldn’t remember everything that happened, their memory couldn’t be bad.
“You can have it.” The Mage gave the book to Roland without hesitation.
“You’ve finished it?”
The Mage shrugged. “In fact, I have no idea what the book talks about.”
Then why did you seem so fascinated by the book just now?
Roland opened the book the moment he accepted it.
Flashing Magic Ball was a very powerful spell. Though it was not as good as Grand Fireball, it had a high speed and was very stealthy.
As its name suggested, the magic balls launched by this spell could flash, which meant that they alternated between visible and invisible. It was hard to figure out their trajectory.
Those magic balls could take turns too.
In fact, most trajectory spells could change their direction under the control of the Mages.
But the angle of Flashing Magic Ball was bigger. While most spells couldn’t be turned over ten degrees, Flashing Magic Ball could be turned in about thirty degrees.
With enough magic power, Flashing Magic Ball could even took a turn back.
This was a level-three elemental spell that generally couldn’t be learned until level eight.
Roland was already level seven, and his mental growth was high enough for him to learn the spell. Most importantly, for an Elemental Lord, the difficulty to learn all elemental spells would automatically be reduced by a level.
Learning level-two spells were now as simple to him as eating food.
Reading the spell models for about ten minutes and simulating them in his head, he made a snatching motion with his right hand, and a ball of plasma appeared in his palm.
The male Mage had been observing Roland. He was so shocked that he cried out and stepped back.
He was frightened.
His cry caught the attention of the other Mages, who all looked at Roland in surprise.
They had all read the model of Flashing Magic Ball and memorized it, but none of them could cast it yet because it was too complicated for them.
Yet, the young man had picked it up already?
That couldn’t be true. He must’ve learned it before and came here intentionally to show off.
Roland didn’t care what they were thinking. He carefully sensed the ball in his hand and then dispersed the magic power.
He shook his head.
Not good enough… He could tell that Flashing Magic Ball was more powerful than Prismatic Spray and Arcane Bullet, but it was not as good as he expected.
After all, he still had Grand Fireball, his ultimate skill.
He had to modify the spell. Just as Fireball, this spell could be improved.
Roland suddenly wasn’t interested in any quests anymore. He only wanted to go back to his Magic Tower and perfect this spell.
But a promise was a promise. He couldn’t renege.
Now, Roland finally understood why so many books in the library in his Magic Tower said that a real Mage had no family or friends but only magic!
