Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 352 - 41: The Witches of the Grand Library (Part 2)

Chapter 352: Chapter 41: The Witches of the Grand Library (Part 2)

Hands somewhat awkwardly gripping the book cover.

"You should really take a bath, or else you’re going to dirty my books."

Anna sighed and joked, "I sometimes wonder if it was a mistake to take Eve in. She’s not even willing to clean up some ghouls and spends all her time in the library."

"Last time, that warlock who made the fusion monster came to steal books right in front of her, and she didn’t even notice."

Losa chuckled, recalling the shut-ins from his past life, "Perhaps Lady Eve is more drawn to the world within books."

They ascended another ten floors.

Losa saw another witch.

She was not as unkempt as the last one, with a sophisticated hairstyle, lounging comfortably while reading a book. From Losa’s angle, he could just make out the cover.

Unfortunately, Losa couldn’t recognize the script on the cover.

He guessed it might be Hebrew, similar to some carvings and inscriptions he had seen in sculptures and tablets in the Holy Land.

"The president’s back."

The witch looked up, her gaze lingering on Losa’s face for a while before smiling and saying, "Indeed handsome, Anna didn’t lie. If there’s a chance, let’s communicate more in the future."

"Stop flirting. Today the Chief Protector announced that a ghoul nest was found in the western suburbs. The Thrace Imperial Guard isn’t in the capital, so you handle it."

"Oh, by the way, I haven’t introduced you. This is Li Yena, a decently skilled fire mage who specializes in dealing with these rotten corpse-type dark creatures."

Ghouls are creatures that like to dwell in dark, damp places, living off corpse theft, but certainly won’t refuse to devour the living, regarded along with water ghosts as the most common demons.

Anna was right; with more people, there’s always an array of trivial matters.

Constantinople has numerous churches and thus numerous tombs, attracting ghouls as a matter of course. Unless everyone moves swiftly into the cremation era, these incidents can’t be avoided.

Li Yena complained, "President, you want a beautiful and gorgeous witch like me to run into smelly sewers or tombs looking for a group of nauseating ghouls?"

"Even if the Thrace Imperial Guard isn’t here, you should hire some demon hunters to do this job. I remember a few demon hunter schools in Poland offer decent commissions, I can help connect you."

Anna snorted lightly, "You should earn your stipend from the association, don’t try to be a salary thief."

"Alright."

Li Yena rose, and as she passed by Losa, her hand brushed lightly against his hand, seeing Losa’s somewhat surprised look, she showed a charming smile.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Don’t mind this flirt. Her ambition is to sleep with all the handsome extraordinary beings globally, even those demon hunters reeking of demon scent aren’t exempt."

"Sounds familiar."

"Yes, just like those flirtatious witch encounters in ’Demon Hunter’ you wrote, similar to what Van Helsing went through."

Losa mused to himself that this might be the worst portrayal Van Helsing ever faced.

The stakes you Geralt set, what does it have to do with my Van Helsing?

They continued upward.

From the outside, the grand library seemed at most twenty meters tall, but inside, it appeared much more expansive. After ascending over twenty floors, looking up, there were still layers of stairs to be seen.

"This grand library was built by a powerful caster, employing many space-expansion arrays. It’s just that I lack any talent in space magic, otherwise, theft wouldn’t be an issue."

Anna sighed lightly. She regretted not mastering space magic.

Because it’s really convenient.

If a teleportation gate were opened, directly connecting to a rival’s capital, divine weapons would descend, easily winning a war that could drag on for decades.

"Who still masters space magic now?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"I don’t know, but even if someone does, it wouldn’t be very profound."

Losa recalled his time in Montreal and continued, "I once encountered an old god in Montreal, likely the Crocodile God from Egyptian mythology, using quite competent space magic."

"Those relics are exceptions. What they use isn’t space magic; it’s divine power created to mimic space magic’s effects."

Although Losa found these words a bit convoluted, he understood the meaning.

It’s similar to using follower-borrowed magic, like knowing to aim the harpoon below the fish underwater but not understanding it’s due to light refraction.

Anna thought for a moment and added, "However, most who live up to now are just barely clinging to life, not worth worrying about."

...

Upon reaching the top floor.

Losa found the area especially spacious, a large pool next to him. As he approached, a stirring in his blood coursed through him, and he felt a strong urge for his eyes to turn into golden slit pupils.

Fortunately, Losa resisted in time.

This is probably the Sea Dragon essence Anna often mentioned, no matter how tempting, it’s off-limits.

"Nikou, come and greet our guest."

In the pool.

Shadows surfaced.

A pair of golden slit pupils gradually approached the water’s surface.

Nikou looked at Losa. Her eyes flickered with a slight wariness. From Losa’s presence, she felt a strong threat, yet this person came with her "mother."

"Hello, Miss Nikou."

Losa swallowed nervously.

Even in respectable dragon races, devouring similar bloodlines immensely benefits one’s strength, leading to most dragons living solitary lives.

Nikou didn’t feel tempted somehow, only sensed Losa as if a terrifying black demon dragon loomed behind him, crowned in bone atop its head, drooling at the edges of its mouth, staring at her intently.

Bang—

Nikou plunged back into the water.

"Nikou is very afraid of you."

Anna thought for a moment, "It’s likely you’ve hunted too many dragon species, infecting yourself with dragon grievances—anyway, why are you pursuing dragon species?"

Losa pondered.

He considered how to fabricate.

Seeing Losa’s expression, Anna lost interest and waved her hand dismissively, "Alright, if you don’t want to say, don’t rack your brains making up lies."

Losa obliged smoothly, "Then I won’t fabricate."

"Follow me."

Anna pressed a bookshelf on the library’s top floor, causing it to slide aside, revealing a wooden door.

Pushing the door open.

Inside was a room filled with cauldrons, crucibles, test tubes, beakers, glass jars, and other experimental apparatus, with faint traces of smoke and burn marks on the walls.

Losa’s gaze instantly fell upon the suspended item in the room.

"This is..."

"That’s right, this is the treasure crafted for you."

Anna smiled, "The tyrannical dragon you slew wasn’t ordinary. It contained a trace of volcanic divinity, if used properly, at least a half-divine artifact."

"What do I need to do?"

"Since this item’s base is the tyrannical dragon’s heart, naturally resistant to flames, melting it is quite challenging. I need you to cast your strongest flame magic to melt it."

"You can’t do it?"

"It’s not impossible, but since this treasure is for your use, having you handle this step increases compatibility."

"You have faith in me. I haven’t even mastered continuous fireball yet."

Anna smiled, "No need to hide your strengths from me, after all, if you weren’t skilled in flame magic, why request me to craft a fire element treasure for you?"

Losa chuckled, "Excellent perception."

"What should I do?"

"Use your strongest flame magic to temper it, the stronger the power, the better. Don’t worry about burning it; with flame divinity, the higher the temperature, the better the quality."

Losa surveyed the surroundings, "Will this place be destroyed?"

"Don’t be afraid."

Anna snapped her fingers, causing the room’s clutter to vanish, leaving an empty room, "This was the alchemy laboratory designed by Constantinople’s architect, very sturdy."

Losa thought for a while, determined Anna was still trustworthy, not needing excessive vigilance, and advised, "Then step back a bit, don’t be startled."

"Don’t joke, I’ve weathered storms!"

Anna huffed lightly, then hurried to a far spot behind Losa.

Despite her tough words, Anna always took her safety seriously.