
The Cocker Spaniel that Meng Li brought over was well trained, and didn't bark or wander around everywhere. It lay quietly on the floor, sniffed, blinked its big eyes, and stared at the kitchen of the small restaurant, where the aroma of cooked food was coming from. 
Zhang Zian took a few sips of his orange juice, then thought silently about the letters on the napkin.　　
Since they were talking about science fiction, he remembered a fiction story he'd read in the past. He asked, "Professor Meng, I'm wondering if you've read a short fantasy story, called the Book of Sand?"　　
"Book of Sand?"　　　　
This time, it was Meng Li's turn to feel shocked. He was bending over to comb out his Cocker Spaniel's fur. Cocker Spaniels had naturally curly long fur, which easily tangled and needed frequent combing. Otherwise, they would look sleazy. Besides from studying, his graduate students had another assignment to comb the dog's hair, which made them joke that they were working at a cotton mill.　
Meng Li thought for a while and was certain that this name was unfamiliar. He hadn't read it.　　
"Like I said, I rarely read science fiction. Most of the books I read are about math. You have to keep learning these days, otherwise you'll get outdated very easily." He smiled. "Is this Book of Sand an interesting read?"　　
"No, despite the fact that it's called Book of Sand, it's not an actual book, but a short fantasy story with only 2000 words. The author is the Argentinean writer, Jorge Luis Borges. This is his most recognized work," explained Zhang Zian. He'd read the story a long time ago, but he still remembered it because it was so mind-blowing.  
"Oh?" Meng Li was slightly interested. "In math, brevity is beauty. A story of 2000 words is somehow this author's most recognized work? It must be deep in thought and artistic. What is it about?"　　
Zhang Zian recalled this science fiction story and began retelling it.　　
In the beginning of Book of Sand, the hero was an ordinary man living in an ordinary house. One day, a stranger visited him with a suitcase. The stranger was selling the Bible, but the man was not interested, as he already owned a few Bibles. Then the stranger took out another book. It wasn't a Bible, but the cover read The Holy Book.　　
After flipping open The Holy Book, the protagonist found that the page numbers were odd. They weren't in sequential order, but completely random. Most importantly, the page number of the book was endless, and he could never find the beginning nor the end. New pages always appeared out of nowhere, and the book had pictures like a dictionary.　　
The stranger said that he bought this book from a village. The salesperson called it The Book of Sand, as it was endless like sand.　　
It was a very strange book, but the stranger was willing to sell it to the man at a relatively low price. In fact, he'd wanted to get rid of it for a long time.　　
After getting this book, that man also became its slave. He stopped going out, for he loved the book so much that he couldn't step away from it. He studied it all day and night, because of his obsessive interest in it. He could no longer sleep. And even if he did sleep, he dreamed about it all the time.　　
Like the stranger, the man suddenly realized that his life would be completely ruined if he continued on this way. So he decided to get rid of this nightmare just as the stranger did.　
After getting this far, Zhang Zian suddenly started acting mysterious and asked, "Can you guess how the hero got rid of the book?"　　
Meng Li was completed drawn in by this odd story. He stopped combing the Cocker Spaniel's fur and took a guess. "Did he sell it to somebody else, like the stranger did?"
Zhang Zian smiled. "He did something smarter. He hid it like a tree in the forest. When nobody was watching, he hid the book on a bookshelf of a national library with 0.9 million books, and tried not to remember which shelf it was. He never even visited the street where the library was."　　
Meng Li knocked on the table with excitement. "Great idea! If he did so, this Book of Sand could no longer be found, unless some extremely unlucky guy picked it up, with a chance of 1 out of 0.9 million!"　　
Zhang Zian smiled bitterly.  This extremely unlucky is sitting right in front of you, and offered you a glass of orange juice.　
He remembered that when Pi first arrived at the pet shop, it would make a gesture of slipping sand out of its hand. Back then, he thought that it was referring to the sand of Ganges river. Could he be wrong?　　
"So is the story is over?" Meng Li was looking forward to hearing more.　　
Zhang Zian nodded. "It's finishes with an open ending. Professor, is this Book of Sand similar to The Hyperwebster Dictionary?"
Meng Li said, "Indeed. But the Hyperwebster is more rigorous, and it does have a beginning."　　
Zhang Zian agreed on this. The Hyperwebster was a theory of science, but the Book of Sand was a fantasy of literature. They shared some similarities only in certain aspects.
"Either the Hyperwebster or the Book of Sand, if they do exist, would be very precious. Aren't they? They would be the most impressive books on Earth. Or if there are other civilizations in the universe, could they come up with better books?" he asked.　　
He remembered that Galaxy once said the nameless book was the most impressive book on the earth, but not in the universe.　　
Meng Li asked, "Impressive? Of course. Except that both books have limitations, which is because they're written in English, and are limited to the 26 letters. Some ideas can't be expressed by just 26 English letters. If some civilization in the universe has a more comprehensive linguistic system, they could theorize a better version of the Hyperwebster."　　
Zhang Zian nodded. This confirmed Galaxy's remark.　　
"If you got a copy of the Book of Sand, or the Hyperwebster, what would you do?" He tentatively asked again.　　
Meng Li was drinking his orange juice. He stopped after hearing these words.　　
"Get a copy? Neither of these two book are supposed to exist in real life. How would I get a copy?" He pushed the question back with a scientist's rationality.　　
"In theory, let's suppose you had one." Zhang Zian clarified.　　
"Well..." Meng Li thought about it. "If I got the Book of Sand, I might read it. If I would end up getting obsessed over it like the man from the story...I'm not sure, maybe. A lot of people crave knowledge, after all. But if I got the Hyperwebster, well, it's hard to say. The words might be in random order. I wouldn't be able to read even if I try. Perhaps I would give it to the government." 　　
He was half joking.　　
"This is my other question." Zhang Zian ignored his joke. "If the words in the Hyperwebster are in random order, how can you know that it contains all knowledge and all of the great writings?"　　
Meng Li murmured, "This is theoretical. Theories are theories, after all. They never consider the obstacles of actually reading it."　　
Zhang Zian continued. "Have you heard this quote: My life has an end, but knowledge is endless?"　　
"Yes. I may be a mathematician, but I know this famous quote." Meng Li smiled. "It means that, our lives are limited, but knowledge is limitless. How is this related to our discussion about the Hyperwebster and the Book of Sand?"　　
"It is, in fact, very much related." Zhang Zian spoke firmly. "Professor Meng, do you know the second half of this quote?"　　
"Well..." Meng Li had no idea.　　
The first half of this quote was well-known, but the second half was often ignored. A lot of famous quotes were like this. People only took the parts that they needed, and twisted the original meanings. Such as the quote: When your parents are still around, you travel too far. It was often used to teach people to treat their parents properly. However, in the original text of Confucius, the second half was: If you travel, you must have a plan.
"The second half is: Chasing the endless with the limited is dangerous!" Zhang Zian answered his own question.　　
Meng Li considered the second half of the quote, and compared it to the first half. Then he said with uncertainty, "I'm not an expert in ancient literature. The second half means pursuing unlimited knowledge with my limited life is doomed to fail?"　
"Correct."　　
"Our ancestor's words still make sense today," exclaimed Meng Li.　
"I agree," said Zhang Zian half-heartedly. This was all his self-reflection. He understood something, more or less.　　
That untitled book, whether it was the Hyperwebster or the Book of Sand, or some other imaginary book of another civilization in the universe, was endless. But human beings were still limited. Pursuing the neverending with the limited was destined to fail. Therefore, nobody could read the nameless book on their own. As he flipped open the nameless book in attempt to understand it, he was making this mistake.
The man from the Book of Sand, out of his thirst for knowledge, was making the same mistake as well. He didn't realize that knowledge was without bounds, but his time was limited.　
It really was true. My life has an end, but knowledge is endless. Chasing the endless with the limited is dangerous!　　
Unless...　　
Meng Li realized this at the same time. "A limited person cannot read an endless book, unless there are endless numbers of people. If an infinite number of people are reading the Hyperwebster at the same time, and each person is extracting meaningful words and connect them into lines and articles, then they are pursuing infinity with infinity."　
"But how can there be infinite numbers of people? It's still meaningless." He shook his head and sighed.　　
No, it is meaningful, said Zhang Zian silently to himself.　　
He understood why Galaxy could read the nameless book. It had been through an infinite number of reincarnations, and had the infinity feature.　　
Famous was going through reincarnations with Galaxy in the Imagined World, and touched the border of infinity. That was why it could see blurry words.　　
Pi could read it, as it must have also possessed the infinite feature.　　
One could only understand the nameless book by pursuing infinity with infinity.　　



1. Download a suspicious game
2. Catch a few magical pets as partners
3. Go through interesting daily routines and lead the pet shop to a whole new level

Welcome, I am making a new book on a science fiction story. It will a book normally for who love science of space and robots or who go in robotics as this book will give you creating structures of robot in which there will be an alien land and Robot land in the universe which will be created by the humans but there will be other chapters which will boom your mind. If you love my science fiction stories comment me to write on any topic you want , I will do my best for that.

A story of robot who lived in parallel universe in which earth is fifteen years forward than present India. Take your seat belts to ride the future universal my own created story.

The library was an old three-story building that use to be a factory. It was donated over fifty years ago. And was one of the older building in the area. It had been updated in the last few years with new walls, stairs, and wiring. However, they had kept the worn wood floors and it still had a cool, well-used and comfortable feel to it.

She walked over to the front counter where the librarian, Mrs. Chen, sat working on the computer.

"Hello, Lina. I heard you finally got assigned independent study. It took those kooks up in the English department long enough, heh?"

"You're telling me. I didn't know how many more of those idiots I could take without counseling." She thought about how that could be taken for a moment. "The students, that is, Mrs. Chen."

"Sure. Your class time doesn't start until tomorrow, so I assume you're here for your book."

"It finally came in?!"

She smiled and reached beneath the counter.

"Just this morning. Blood by GRAY."She shook her head but handed her the book. "Sometimes I wonder if I should be worried about you."

Lina laugh. The game and the book was sort of along the same vane but different. The book focuses more on how one could tell if you could make potions in real life. That is if you had blood. The author of the book offer list and guilds on taking a potion from a game and make money.

"Shoo, now," she said, waving her hands. "You're terrible."

She took the book and walked to the back corner of the room where the wide oak stairs led up to the second floor and her special reading spot. She ran her hand up the smooth banister as she walked up, loving the feel of the cool wood. The library had always been a quiet spot she had used to think and relax since she had come to the college three years ago. She used it to get away from all of the whispers and names.

At the top of the stairs, she walked through the maze of books to a dimly lit far corner. The shelves formed a natural hallway that prevented anyone from seeing the corner unless they actually walked through. It held a large beige chair big enough for two and a standing light next to it. She never worried about anyone being there because the idiots on campus barely walked through the reference books on the first floor, let alone the second floor where most of the romance, fiction, mystery, horror, fantasy, and science fiction books were held.

She set her bag on the floor beside the chair and plopped down, pulling her legs up under her. She didn't need the light yet, so she opened her new book and began reading.

On a well developed city called Paseo, there's a young guy who is really excited to get on college. He is a Bachelor of Science Major in Applied Physics student. He really wants to change the world that he tried to make an innovation that he thinks his life will get better. He is 5 feet tall, with white skin, good looking guy with braces on teeth, he is also wearing glasses. He tried to invent a floating car before but it didn't work. 

It's now 6am in the morning. He wake up and stretch his body. He was so excited in his first day of class. He is really optimistic and wants to know how many things he will learn today.


"Hi, Mom!" Dane said. "Dane, why are you so early? you're first class is 8am?" her mom said.

"Mom, I'm just want to be the earliest student in class. I like to know what's the room looks like hahaha" he replied.


He finish his breakfast, a soft creamy egg omelette with sweet and good hot chocolate. He takes a bath and exact 6:30 am, he ride on a luxurious car going to Paseo State University. 

"Sir Dane, its rush hour, there's a heavy traffic right now, this is a great idea to go on school early." His driver said. 

"Yeah, I will not let myself be late on my first class" he replied.

His family is rich. His dad have own hospital and a well-known Neurologist. He is living on a luxurious life that he is able to get what he wants. Even though he was rich, Dane is so humble. He always listen to his dad's advise. " Be thankful on what you have and learn to put yourself on the other person's shoes"

"We are here now, sir David. Goodluck on your first day!" Driver said. "Thank you, I hope this day will be a great day!" Dane replied.

He is 16 years old right now. Full of positivity, full of hope, hungry for knowledge and wants to be a greatest phycisist in the future.

~~ Class Started~~

After he finished attending two classes, he is now attending on his General Physics class. 

"Guys, before we end our class, I just want to share with you a trivia. Do you know that we have electricity in our body?" Professor Clin said.

Students is talking each other and Dane is thinking what his professor said.

"It is produced when a positive and negative atom is out of balanced. Human skin and hair has it and it can accumulated electric charges, can you guess what is it?" Professor said with a smile in his face.

" I think I've read about it before but I can't recall it. Did you know that Dane?" Biston said. He is Dane's classmate. A long hair guy that loves to play guitar. He also love science that he created a scientific security system on his house. They became friends immediately when they find out that they have same interest in science.

" I don't know either" Dane replied. 


Professor Clin: "that's static electricity! I just found it interesting to tell you guys. "


Some students amazed on that facts.  While other students is talking each other about these facts, one student raised her hands and ask the professor. " Professor Clin, do you believe in alchemy?"



" If you will ask me, I believe in the fact that alchemy has been a part of philosophy and science from the past century. One of its main purpose is, to covert materials into a noble element like gold. To find a universal elixir as well. It is seemingly a magical process of transformation." professor said.


"What is that universal elixir Professor?" Dane asked.


"Well... It's the philosopher's stone. They believe that you can have an eternal life using it" he replied.


Dane became interested on alchemy and wants to know more about it. After that day, he started searching about this matter and see if it was true, especially about the universal elixir or philosopher's stone.



(Author's Note)

- Thank you for reading the first chapter. I'm so happy that you read my first book. I hope that you'll enjoy reading my story in the next chapter. Please be informed that this story is fictitious. Anything you will read in this story is just a fiction. Enjoy reading!

A young guy who is able to transform any element material into a gold and mold any solid material for battle. He is looking for the elixir that has been made many centuries ago. Is he able to find it? Is this guy is a true alchemist?

Get up, brush my teeth, get dressed, make breakfast, go to school, come back, study, eat supper, fall asleep. 

That was my schedule, until one day I was awoken by a blinding light. This light spoke to me.

"You are chosen. You are the one who will be given the system"

"What should I do with it?" I asked casually, assuming I was just in a lucid dream. I did have similar dreams before. Getting a system and doing whatever I pleased. Cultivating, fishing. Everything imaginable.

"Whatever you wish, for it is now yours to control." The blinding light vanished and I soon realized it was not a dream which promptly caused me to yell out; "What the hell!?" In front of him was now a rectangular box with information on his now supposed system! 

[Read and Write System!]

[Read any book, be it fiction or non-fiction and write out its content into reality. For every creation, you will level up. Accuracy and power of the creation will affect how much you level up! Each level up will provide ten skill points.

You have been given four skills

>A novelist's memory! 
You will remember every single detail of everything you read and create. 

>Standing on the Shoulders of Giants!
Your imagination and writing skills have reached the peak of humanity. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you could create several worlds within your mind in an instant.

>The world is within the palm of your hand. 
You ignore the law of physics, or, the useless parts of it. You're able to augment your body to god-like levels. Though, each augments uses a skill point!]

>Imagination into Reality! 
You can make anything into reality as long as you can describe it in detail!


Almost instantly, I got out of bed and went to my computer. Logging in, and being greeted by porn. I impatiently said out loud. "Fuck porn, I got more important things to do!" 

I searched up one of my favorite novels. It was just a generic cultivation novel, but it was fun to read! Within a day I had read every single chapter. All the way from chapter 1 to 1034 and I remembered it all! 


Immediately I had the thought of writing it out, but before I could even grab the stuff needed, a pen and book appeared out of nowhere and into my hands. The cover of the book was labeled as "Book of Infinite Ideas" and the pen was named "God's Quill". It did not matter what I used!

I instantly began writing. The first thing I wrote was from the novel he had just read and it played a big part in the story. Soul Transfer!

[Arthur/Me's soul is able to transfer from body to body with no resistance, however, if there is already a soul within that body then Arthur's soul will not kick out that soul, only override the body and put that person's soul into hibernation. Arthur's soul can do this an infinite amount of times!]

As I wrote the end of the sentence I suddenly felt different, as if I was free to do whatever I wanted. I couldn't contain my excitement and instantly tried the most basic sitting stance. The lotus position! 

I got into position and closed my eyes, imagining myself leaving my body and within an instant I achieved it. Of course, having an imagination that could think up several complex worlds within a second would easily allow me to do something trivial like this.
   
I watched as my body slouched over and onto my desk, drooling. I quickly imagined myself back in my body and true to my thoughts, I was back in my body. I picked myself up from my desk and stood up in excitement.

Seeing the system work made me scream out loud! 

"THIS IS AWESOME!

I quickly got back into my chair, grabbed my magic pen and wrote down part two to the soul transfer.

[There is a universe where everyone is universally strong. The me from that universe has 10x the strength as the strongest person within my universe and also boasted 100x organ strength. Meaning, every organ was ten times stronger than within my universe. The version of me in that world had died, but the body was preserved 100% due to the technologic capabilities of that version of the human race. For what reason? To use it for science! However, for whatever reason, some wormhole sucked up my body and brought it to my universe, dropped it within my room, the moment I finished writing this."]

The moment I wrote the period, a crack of what seemed on space itself appeared and out of that crack, came a body! The other version of me from the universe I created! The wormhole then disappeared, his home universe rejecting it! 

I looked down at the other naked dead version of me and smiled brightly! Yes! 

I quickly left my original body and entered into the one from the other universe!

I slowly got up and stretched my limbs, getting a feel for the new power he now had.

"Oh, this is going to be such a blast! What should I do first? Change the world into an RPG? Or have a portal appear in my room that'll take me to an RPG world where I need to level up in order to survive! So many ideas, so little time...WAIT, what if..."

One day, when I was reading, I was given a system by a godly figure. What should I do, I asked it. It said, "Whatever you want." 

On that day, I got the [Read and write System!]

2195 AD...

Decades past since the Religious War and after that, technology grew into an astonishing rate. Religion disappeared and came the era of Science. By 2110, humanity has spread outside the solar system and Earth became the planet to become the biggest economic gold mine. 

Jobs like Engineering, Information Technology, Architectural spiked as the need of work force came into an agressive need. Flying Cars, Nano-drones, Deep-sleep Virtual Reality and all the things that was once imagined as science fiction came to life as Quantum Mechanics was studied and mastered at the very peak.

Phones with a storage of atleast 1 Tera-bytes became the norm and Internet Connection became so fast that the term "Lag" became a myth. This is the era of Science!

... A hand covered the text as Alpheus closed the book with the cover saying — A New Millenia. He gave out a sigh as Alpheus looked out of his window, "The only thing that stayed after the Religious War was the books." He said.

He puts the book on the table as he stood up and went closer to the window, "Where did it go wrong?" He muttered as the shining lights of the building covered the natural darkness of the night.

He puts his legs upward as he climbed through the window. As he closed his eyes, he opened his arms as tears came out of his eyes and... he fell. The gushing wind covered his ears as life came flashing back.

At a very young age, Alpheus was very fond of technology, at the age of 8. He became very interested as he saw the heroes of revolutionary technologies in statues: Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and more. The desire to be like them, Alpheus' heart was blazing with the intent to be like them.

but...

He was talentless in the arts of Engineering and Electronics. On highschool, his friends was already making simplified version of phones by their own, the future of Humanity was standing in front of Alpheus yet... what is he?

In college, his friends was already so advanced that they all were making their own car, smartphones, drones and the such. As the norm of this era, it was normal to be making it at that kind of age as knowledge and experience was handed down in Middle School.

Yet Alpheus has not made but a single phone in his whole life and the people ridiculed him for it. For his inability to handle electronic was a shame to the Technological World he lived in. He was ashamed but his desire to be the ones he saw as an inspiration, his burning desire became stronger.

At the age of 30, he studied everything; from Advanced Aerodynamics to Calculus V and at the age of 40, he began his own business. He opened TaserTech, his very own company who makes generalized technology; from Expensive Phones to Super Cars and at the age of 50, he became a multi-millionaire.

But luck did not last long. In his mansion, he fell down on his knees as he began to breath with difficulty. 

When they went to the hospital, a sentence from the doctor broke Alpheus' entire career, "You have Liver Multicroma." Alpheus eyes deepened as the rarest form of cancer has hit him. Multicroma is a form of cancer that evolved through the years, it is more resilient and more deadlier than the normal cancer. Cancer is treatable but Multicroma isn't.

"There is a way to fix this but... it is really expensive." The doctor said.

Alpheus stood by his mansion as he looked down the raining clouds as he looked at his receipt. The bills needed to fix him, it was worth more than his company has ever made. He crumpled the paper as he bit his lips, "I will not die." He said as the burning desire still fiery as ever before.

For the past 2 years, the procedure has costed him every money he has but he didn't realize the consequence he had done. 2 years passed, Multicroma wasn't fixed but it was slowed down to the point that it can be hypothetically called cured and he was finally a free man again but it costed him more than the company and went bankcrupt when he returned to his company. It was gone.

All his hard work, his dignity. The company was all he had, all he ever lived for...

And now it's gone.

"I should've just died a long time ago..." He muttered in silence as the gust of wind in his ears turned that into a bone-breaking splatter. It was an instant death as he went head-first.

...

..

.

I remember... High school? 10th Grade. Born in a poor family. Without a dad. Mom. She is sweating blood. For me. For my future. I have to work in secret. Mom.

My girlfriend. The goddess of Shrill Academy. She is a. She is a...

BITCH! BITCH BITCH BITCH BITCH BITCH!

HOW DARE YOU BETRAY ME WITH THAT KEISLER! WHY WOULD YOU BETRAY ME—...
...
Why?

Such a miserable life. Why was I born in the wrong year... and the wrong time. Why?

2195 AD — decades after the end of the religious war, technology advanced like never before. Lucy, the hero of the story, dies after he jumps out of his window and when he woke up... He was in the year 2013 AD.

What will Lucy do? With his technological knowledge above all things, he may change the whole Techonological Industry.

The bookstore looks quite rundown with the paints peeling of the walls. The bookstore has a sign at the side on the entrance but the words were quite faded and were unreadable.

Entering the bookstore, Volum found no one inside the book store. Still he entered the store and decided to browse through all the collection of the books.

The bookstore was apparently those kinds of store that was bigger in the inside despite the outward appearance of the store. The inside was also of a better condition than the outside as proven by the tidiness of the store. 

Walking through the book store, Volum discovered that the bookstore has a wide variety of collection from biology, history, geography, fantasy, science-fiction, philosophy and much more. He also noticed a section of self-defence and entertained the thought of beating Jon up but looking at his feeble body and the fact that Jon always has his army of underlings with him, he decided not to risk it.

He kept on looking at all the various collection and came across the [Magic] section of the bookstore where the books range from [Dummy Guide to Golem], [Apothecary 101], [Diving the Future] and many other books. Despite a firm believer of science, Volom was still quite interested in magic and had a certain attraction to the term 'Magic'. 

Although he knew it was impossible, he was imagining all sorts of methods he could use to harm Jon using the magic in the books that he could use such as cursing him, making a voodoo doll out of him or even making do something foolish in the public which will destroy his reputation in society. 

Looking through all the books that are in the store, he came across a book that was bound in leather and had a magic circle on it with a heptagram on it. Looking at the spine of the book, he saw the title of the book that states [Solomon's Key]. Being a Magic nerd, he knew the significance of the name Solomon and was immediately interested in it. 

Looking at it, he knew that he had to buy it. The impulse of buying it, the wanting of the book and the desire all build up and Volom knew that he had to get the book. He brought the book to the cashier who had the appearance of an old man and ask the price of the book.

"It will be $300. Please pay up."

Hearing the price made his mind blow up and start cursing inside of him but with all his desire that scream that he had to get the book, he decided to buy the book with the money in his card despite the fact that the money is supposed to last him for the month.

Volom happens to chance upon a grimoire and is chased by people who wish to snatch the grimoire back.

"THERE'S SO MANY people out and about town!" Alice gasped, turning her head to follow a little boy that was holding onto a candied apple that had rushed past her.

"Yes," Wyatt beamed, his eyes pressed closed due to his smile, crinkling at the corners. "It's always rather busy in the capital of Gladiolum." 

A day after the ball, Wyatt had suggested bringing Alice around the town square to soak in the sights. He personally had to do a little shopping and thought that it would be a wonderful chance for Alice to grow more familiar with the capital. She had been living with the Ragans for nearly two weeks and yet she had barely even stepped out of the mansion's walls. It was best for young ladies to enjoy their time around town with friends. Being constantly cooped up in the study room with Charlie wasn't exactly an ideal situation in Wyatt's opinion. Of course, not that Alice had ever complained.

Strolling through the cobbled streets, Wyatt pointed out some of his personal favorite shops along the way. They passed by boutiques selling beautiful ball gowns, stores selling sparkling jewels, and even quaint little cafes that wafted out the sugary sweet scent of freshly baked pastries. However, while Alice acted as though she was very interested in those, he could tell that was all it was. An act. She simply smiled and nodded to Wyatt's words, not once asking to step into any of those stores like he had expected. Yet again she had him colored surprised.

Just the thought brought a curving smile onto his lips. The girl that his family had chanced upon was most certainly different from the rest of the girls in the capital. She stood out in such a way that there wasn't any spare place for the others to shine. She was the lone star now, a happy and proud resident of the Ragan household. While still suspicious of her origins, Wyatt couldn't help but admit to himself that he was growing fond of Alice Clemente.

"Are you not interested in any of the shops I pointed out?" He prodded. "Those are all famous names here in the capital."

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed. Wyatt watched with his practiced smile as the girl's eyes widened delightfully, eyelashes fluttering like a pair of butterfly wings under the golden sunlight. Her lips parted just a little in surprise before she quickly gathered back her wits, shaking her head politely. "They are all wonderful shops. I just… I don't have any money to buy all those things. Looking through the store window is more than enough."

For years Wyatt had worn the same smile on his face. It was his perfectly crafted mask made to shield his true emotions from the rest of the nobles. No matter what he felt inside, a smile was always the answer to dealing with those that had to be schemed against. However, every time Alice spoke or made one of her silly little expressions, he found his smiles to turn true as day.

"Let us go into that one, then." Wyatt pointed to a little bookshop down the street, a corner store with a gleaming bronze sign. "There are some things I wish to purchase."

Alice nodded. "Alright," she said.

Although her expression remained as still as possible, Wyatt still caught the slight twitch of her lips. The sparkles in her eyes practically screamed of her excitement. She couldn't fool anyone. Even the blind could tell that she was particularly eager to enter the bookshop. 

The little bell that hung above the door rang when Wyatt entered the shop. Inside, there were no other customers, simply a store clerk that had a book in hand. A pair of round spectacles rested on his crooked nose bridge, his eyes scanning the words at an immense speed before he licked his finger and flipped to the next page. At the call of the bell, the clerk looked up from his book, squinting at the door before rising to his feet. The book was placed pages-down onto the counter, a smile upon his lips.

"Master Wyatt!" The old clerk greeted enthusiastically. "I was wondering when you'll be visiting next. The books you ordered two weeks back are finally here." 

"Greetings," Wyatt replied fairly. "And thank you so much for your help with those. It's nearly impossible to find them anywhere else."

The old man waved, his cheeks reddening just a little. "It's no problem. Let me go get them for you." Shuffling towards the back of the shop, the clerk disappeared behind a dividing curtain.

"Do you come here often?" Alice asked, looking around the small bookstore with great interest. At random, she pulled out one of the books from the shelves, her fingers tracing the title of the book on the cover, feeling the indented words on the hard leather.

'History of Gladiolum. Volume III,' it read. Alice had seen a similar history book in Charlie's study room before. Making a mental note to briefly read through the contents of the book, she slotted the book back to its original position.

"Hmm, I wonder." Tapping a finger to his chin, Wyatt looked deep in thought. "I guess I do visit this store a little more than the average folk. They sell writing supplies as well as books and I run out of the former a little too often. Besides, this store is the only one in the capital that can procure rare and often out-of-print."

Walking a little further into the shop, Alice glanced through the assortment of reading materials offered. They had both fiction and non-fiction books in the store, leaning closer to non-fiction books. Most books were new copies, their covers still brightly colored while others were much older and encased in glass covers. Those books seemed old and tattered but the words were still in dark black ink, most likely having been re-written over so that it wouldn't be lost to time. 

The one that had caught Alice's attention was a purple leather-bound book that was almost as thick as a dictionary. The title of this book was written in bright, glittery gold in thick block letters. A small sign that indicated the price of the old tome was placed beside the book. Alice's eyes widened at the number of zeros, her head reeling back a little in surprise. She still wasn't sure about how the currency worked in Gladiolum but with so many zeros, the book was bound to be expensive no matter the exchange rate.

'The Theory of Magic. Volume I,' the title wrote.

"Are you interested in that one? Ooh, that's a pricey one." Wyatt's voice was right by Alice's ear, causing her to jump a little, her ears tingling from his breath. Stepping away, she held both hands to her chest, staring wide-eyed at Wyatt who looked as amused as ever.

"Just looking," she answered before firing back a question of her own. "How much is that book? I don't really know how the currency works here."

"See that symbol over there?" Wyatt gestured to the symbol behind the number as he spoke. "That's the symbol for our currency, 'fleuron'. That's the larger of the two units that we have in our country's currency. The smaller unit is known as a 'flois'. Ten flois equates to one fleuron. To give you an example of its value, five flois can buy you a piece of stale bread at the end of the day in the capital's cheapest bakery, maybe? Books, on the other hand, are usually five to ten fleurons, if it's a common title that can be easily found."

Alice gulped. Judging by the examples Wyatt provided, the currency here in Gladiolum seemed similar to the system she was used to. A single fleuron held as much value as a dollar back home and a flois would be around ten cents. Her hands were starting to feel clammy as she stared hard at the price tag of The Theory of Magic. 

"And yet this book is…" she trailed off.

"Fifteen thousand fleurons," Wyatt finished the sentence for her chirpily.

Fifteen thousand dollars.

Taking another step back, Alice no longer dared to hover near the expensive article. If anything had happened to it, she wouldn't be able to pay the store back for the damages incurred. She had never seen a book as expensive or even half as pricey. 

"Why is this book so… so…"

"Ridiculously priced?" Wyatt supplied. When Alice nodded numbly, Wyatt chuckled. "This is an ancient tome about magic. There are only five copies of this book that was ever produced. But if you're really interested in this book, there's no need for you to fork out such a hefty amount just to read it. We have a copy of it back in the mansion's library."

Flabbergasted and speechless, Alice blinked dumbly at what Wyatt had so casually revealed. Although she long knew that the Ragan mansion was a sprawling estate with many different needlessly fanciful rooms, she hadn't even thought to think that it might house precious artifacts within its walls. 

In Gladiolum, it seemed as though the gap between its people was wider than the ocean. The rich lived in heaven while the poor couldn't even afford hell.

"Why don't you take a look around the bookshop and see if there's anything that catches your eye?" Wyatt offered. "If we don't already have the book back home, I don't mind making a few extra purchases. It's the least I can do for dragging you out here with me on such a warm afternoon."

Alice's heart skipped a beat. She braved a step closer, momentarily forgetting about the book in the glass display case. Cupping her hands together as if they were in prayer, Alice beamed.

"Really? Any book?"

Wyatt's smile didn't falter. "There's no budget, if that's what you're asking."

Alice wasted no time. Her feet went scurrying across the dark wooden boards of the store, quickly scouring the bookshelves in search of any title that might help her or catch her fancy. Her fingers ran down the spines, quickly pulling out a few covers that had caught her attention, some fiction and some not. She had a feeling that most, if not all, of the non-fiction books were already available in the Ragans' library but there was no harm in bringing the books over for Wyatt to look through. These books will become her survival guide in this foreign world.

As the store clerk returned to the front counter, Wyatt slowly made his way over. However, he was still gazing in Alice's way, watching silently and bemused as the girl darted from shelf to shelf, climbing ladders and bending low in search of more. There were already over seven books in her hands and she only ever added more to the collection.

"My," the old clerk exclaimed. "I've not seen anyone so frantic for a good title since you first came to my humble store years ago. The old ladies at the bakery next block over will go mad once they hear that the young Master Wyatt is no longer single."

The white-haired man chuckled. "She's just a curious little bird my brother picked up a while back."

The old man shrugged, unconvinced, but he didn't say a word more on that topic. With a heavy thump, he placed three thick books onto the counter, the covers in the three primary colors. The titles were all written in gold, large block letters.

"This set was a little trickier to find as compared to your other requests but there you go. Though, Master Wyatt, don't mind this old man prying but are you sure you want to dabble in this subject? There's always a price to pay when you go against the laws of science."

"I can pay whatever price the world throws at me," Wyatt casually remarked. Picking up one of the books carefully with a gloved hand, he examined the old cover, grinning with satisfaction. "Besides, I'm just completing my collection. With these, the set will now be complete. There's no need to worry, sir."

"Oh well," the old clerk sighed, pursing his lips. "If you're sure, youngin. Let me wrap these up for you."

Tottering away, the elderly went to retrieve a few sheets of brown wrapping paper and some strings to bundle up Wyatt's purchases while waiting for Alice. 

Partially leaning on the counter, Wyatt continued to observe Alice. She no longer had the strength to carry the books she had picked out. Instead, she placed most of them on an empty table by one side. The stack of books was almost taller than she was and yet she continued to hunt for more, her eyes practically dripping with avarice.

'How peculiar,' Wyatt thought to himself. 'She is unaffected by fanciful dresses or glittering jewels and yet dusty old books can bring her into a craze. What an odd woman. She is most certainly a woman before her time.'

❝I want you to visit me even if it's only in your dreams.❞ 

Gifted a candle that was said to be able to make wishes come true, Alice Clemente burned it that very night only to find herself in an unknown world the next morning. 

She had wished for a life of adventure away from the city and its routine. With her wish granted, she was whisked away to a world very different from the one she grew up in. 

Thrust into a new life, would Alice learn how to adapt? Or would she fall down the rabbit hole only to never surface again?

Throughout the night I slaved away at the structure of my security system, sometimes throwing things on the wall, sometimes the floor. Many poisons were thrown together at a moment's notice, my alchemy factory turned into a poisoner's fantasy.

Knives, spikes, forks, needles, pills, all poisoned with the strongest poisons I could make. They weren't lethal, instead they were some of the few that I could make that would be either impossible to trace, or impossible to cure. At least at my level they would be impossible to do, a greater alchemist than me could cure and detect these. I was banking on the fact that they weren't alchemists themselves.

If any alchemist saw me, they'd think me a mad man with a filter mask on my face I was handling highly poisonous plants, fungi, and venomous liquids like they were child's toys. Golems running around, not only to bring things to me but to organize what was there. 

"God, Nikolai, your book smarts are terrifying. Now I understand the true power of a nerd." I shivered at the concoctions around me knowing their true power. Soon, my room looked almost the same as it did before, some areas there were pebbles on the floor, a few extra lightstones on the wall, a few new pairs of shoes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

With a smile I did the final touch, drilling a hole through the door I added a red lightstone turning it into a simple golem. "Now some well deserved rest!"

Laying down in the bed I activated one of the countdown clocks, and fell asleep.

——————-

I woke with a start as a banjo like sound filled the room with terrible melody that would haunt any musician's ears for eternity. Sadly I was never taught anything about music, nor had I thought to put in a way for it to stop before the thirty seconds of 'music' was up.

"Disperse!" An explosion happened as I reversed the properties of the spell, the alarm clock turning into rubble once again.

Getting up and getting dressed, I looked around my room, positive that the renovations would be positive ones I hurried to go to Solomon's room which was printed on the token. As I stepped out of the room I turned towards it, saying "Activate Security" before closing the door. The crystal on the door pulsed red showing everything was working now.

With another book in my hand I lightly jogged into the distance keeping mana flowing through my legs. After finishing the first advanced book took me some time, though if anyone heard how little they'd probably beat me black and blue for being unsatisfied with my progress.

A few twists and turns around the dusty hallway and I was there, the place was organized in such a way that there as a grid system. So to get from my room, 49c to Solomon's 56g was just 8 down and 4 across. I was surprised how close he was to me. With my father's influence I actually had a larger room than I should at my stage so being near a teacher wasn't a that strange.

Knocking twice, I waited patiently as I flipped through the pages, intrigued by the ingenuity of the writer's methods. An hour passed and I finished the book, looking at the door a bit confused so I knocked twice more. "Maybe he isn't in?" 

I sat down after another ten minutes then I heard a crash behind the door and a small explosion. The ground shook with the explosion with enough force I was glad I was sitting down. Deciding to wait, knowing that Solomon would have to open his door soon I took my time going over the technique of the book in my head. 

*Cough Cough*

The door flew open and a man stood there, dusting off his robes as smoke poured out of his room into the vents of the hallway. Looking up at him I put the book back into my bag, standing up. "Hello Sir Solomon, I was placed in your care two days ago."

"Ah yes, yes, Nikolai right? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" He looked confused as he tried to straighten his long burnt beard. His giant eyebrows were raised in a perpetual look of surprise with their bottoms burned away. With all of his hair, and the fact that he only stood to about hip height made one word pop into my head, Muppet.

"Sir, it's actually ten in the morning."

"Oh?" He looked at me and made an annoyed sound, "Then why are you so late?"

"I knocked but no one answered, if I was to pound harder that would be a disrespect." I made a slight bow to my new teacher.

"Don't be such a kiss ass! You're here to learn the law of creation, so get your ass in here!" With a surprising amount of strength he dragged me inside, "Stop calling me sir this and sir that, makes me feel like an old man. I'll have you know I'm only two hundred! Still in the prime of my youth." 

I didn't know what youth this old man was talking about as he waddled to his desk with his cane, his back like a half moon. Following behind him closely I nearly lost him twice behind the piles of books that were all over the place stacked at least six feet high that left me in a miniature labyrinth. His room was at least twice the size of mine and I could see why, one of the walls to another room had been destroyed only leaving a slight divide on the ceiling where a wall had once been.

"Also if you use flowery words with me, or act nice because of some bullshit reason like I'm your teacher, that means you hold no value in your own thoughts. Don't put on a show and I won't hit you like a show horse."

Breathing in, I smiled, it smelled of an old library with filled with dust and old books. If he kept things neatly stacked on bookshelves this place would be a booklover's paradise. His squacky voice yelled back at me from a desk filled with alchemical equipment, "Pick a pile, start reading. You have four hours to read, one to ask questions, then leave me alone."

This worked for me, as I picked a book at random from the piles of books around me. None of them seemed to be books on spells, all of them seemed to be theories and formula, ways to create various tools and apparati. The one that I chose talked about steam power, and how it was superior to electrical energy. Being from the modern world I didn't agree with it at all but I sat down and read anyway.

Within the poorly lit room both of us read, my hands going through the motions of golem creation as I sat there. A handful of stones rolled around with each motion swirling around one another changing into different shapes before falling apart and turning into different shapes.

I was almost at the stage where they were detailed enough to paint, a random thought came into my mind and I started making tiny Orcs. "Tch, this author doesn't know the earth from the heavens." 

Setting the book to the side after I was done with it, I delved into another book but before I could start reading a mild cough got my attention. "Why do you think that book is trash?"

"Weight to energy, there are plenty of fuels out there that have a much better ratio. Heck even pure mana has a better energy to weight ratio, it's just that the containers for it are expensive. It's better to invest into lowering the cost of mana batteries rather than invest into steam power. This book might have been useful a few hundred years ago, but now it's just a relic."

"You're forgetting about fire mages!" He spoke up with a smile on his face, seeming to be reminiscing about something.

"No, I am not." Growing a bit annoyed I enunciated every word. "You are comparing a universal power, to a limited one. It's like saying that sunstones are better than natural light because you can take them underground."

"Watch how you're talking to your elders!"

"I thought you didn't want to hear flowery words or bullshit."

"Fine then, see if I teach you anything!" He grumbled, crossing his arms.

Since Solomon didn't press anymore as I started reading the next book, this one taught the fundamentals of perpetual energy. It ended up immediately in the pile, a surprised look went over my teacher's face as I did so.

After thirty minutes I collected only six books that were worth my time in the large pile, the pile of discarded books making Solomon look at me rather confused. "Many of those books are rather good reads for an inspiring creation mage."

Letting out a sigh I closed the book I was reading, this was going to be a conversation, "They follow the wrong path."

"And what path should they follow?"

"Science! This magic is the most scientifically driven of the other forms of magic. Just because you have an idea doesn't mean you should put it to paper as if it is fact."

"You talk about science like it has a place in magic, you create golems from mear energy inside your body!"

"A power that can blow up towns if you gather enough in one place, it's a very efficient fuel that passes through matter with set instructions. It's mysterious but it has its own rules."

"Many people believe in the science in those books, there are formations that have lasted thousands of years what do you call that if not perpetual energy?" Solomon didn't seem displeased by my rebuttals so I continued.

"Any closed area would eventually find a state of entropy, that is fact. So there must be an outside force fueling them, or it just has a fuel that can last thousands of years. No form of energy lasts forever."

"The stars.."

"Millions of years, not forever. Believe me, energy conservation is all well and good but we can never make something that will continue forever without an outside force acting on it." Flipped open my book, going back to where I was, "Even the law of creation states that if a effect is granted, an equal price is paid."

"Bwahahaha.. Kid, I like you more and more. Using the laws of my own magic in an argument against me." He wiped a tear from his eye, and tossed me a rather heavy tome. "The books in here, I used them all to weed out truth from fiction. This is what I consider to be the pearls floating in the shit."

Catching the tome, I placed the other book to the side, reading the cover of the book, "The Law of Everything: A Precursor to Creation."

"Ha, you have ambitions if you want to call this the law of everything." Chuckling, I dived into the book, Solomon giving me a prideful look.

"Try to find another book that describes the world better than I, that is my soul, and I would never bet against my soul." The old man laughed heartily, before going back to his experiments.

The first page was opened to me, the text laying before me made me pause, "Trust nothing, everything is a lie. Question the world, or everything is true."

So begins my journey, from death to life and everything in between. I have taken over the body of Nikolai Nightingale, and I will learn the path of a true alchemist with the genetics of monsters and with my by my side. For a true alchemist is never mostly harmless...

Welcome to the castle system!


Tags: Pets, System, Cultivation, Alchemy, Magic, Fantasy, Golems, Castles, Super, Awesome, Monkey, Hands

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