Chapter 11 Lichtenstein Castle

The hands of the Saint Hall clock had just passed nine-thirty.

This morning, the group had returned from the cliffs to the mansion and arrived at the library on the second floor.

Despite various magical probes, there were no particularly hidden compartments or mechanisms in this ancient castle that needed deciphering. The detective had also skipped over all possible clues earlier.

However, the mansion owner's room and the library-like book room might contain some useful historical background information.

Such as the mysterious era that no one could figure out, the relationship between the vampires and humans, and the relevant records of the Horning Empire.

Even if it didn't help decipher the Shadow World.

Recording it could allow the Southern Continent Shadow World Association to share it with many researchers and scholars to analyze this important period of history.

Except for Lan Qi and Hyperion, who stayed together, the other challengers maintained groups of three, keeping a relatively safe distance from each other.

Leisurely walking to the window, Lan Qi pulled open the red velvet curtains. Natural light fell on the dark brown bookshelf's wood grain, much clearer than in the early morning.

The dim gold lettering on the covers of the ancient books also regained their luster under the light.

As the sunlight streamed in, the air in the library became fresher, mixed with the scent of ink and candles, as if one could hear the books whispering, telling the stories of forgotten history that they recorded.

"Since everyone has agreed to explore the information before Detective returns, let's start by looking for books about vampires together."

Lan Qi stood by the window, bathed in the sunlight behind him, and said to the others.

Although there was no longer an absolute leader like the detective, among the two most trustworthy people, the young master of the Geographer's Guild was not very reliable. Only the detective's companion, the lawyer, seemed more calm and steady.

But it was precisely this unflappable temperament that made people instinctively feel that he was a bit dangerous.

He always had a faint, calm smile on his face. Compared to arriving at a castle full of murderous intent, he gave the impression of being on vacation at a mansion.

"I have a suggestion, let's burn all these books."

Just then, a female voice sounded from behind. The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw the noble girl from the Keryth Empire, who hadn't offered much input, speaking.

In this warrior-mage-priest team, the noble girl's female knight only looked at her, while the little priest became even more timid under the gaze of the crowd.

"Since the detective found the answer by bypassing all the mechanisms, then these original mechanisms are of very little benefit to us. Destroy them all, and maybe the betrayers will lose even more crucial information."

The noble girl from the Keryth Empire continued firmly.

The crowd fell silent. On closer thought, her statement did make sense.

"But it's also possible that these books contain information that is only useful to the challengers, especially for the other mission objective. I think it's better for everyone to quickly screen through the books related to vampires together."

The leading priest from the Goddess of Destiny Church in the Northern Continent said hesitantly, seeming to support Lan Qi's decision more.

Silence filled the library.

Now, it was simply a matter of gambling or not.

If they gambled on destroying the books, they might also destroy information related to the betrayers' mission objectives.

"I am personally very opposed to burning books... but, let's vote."

Lan Qi spread his hands in the manner of a peacemaker, as if anything was fine as long as everyone could solve the problem calmly.

Soon, the three clergy members from the Northern Continent expressed their opposition to burning books. They valued information about vampires from ancient times.

Hyperion naturally unconditionally supported Lan Qi, and like Lan Qi, also favored preserving the books.

Only the three people from the Keryth Empire supported burning the books.

The young master of the Merchant Guild looked at both sides. He originally wanted to do something cool and burn the books, but after thinking about it, he felt that Lan Qi and the opinions of the clergy members were more stable, so he also chose to preserve the books. The guardian siblings didn't say anything, their intention closer to abstaining, or rather, whatever they voted wouldn't affect the result.

In the end, the cautious faction was in the majority. After the vote, everyone started searching for books together without any complaints, almost in groups of five or six, moving through the bookshelves without leaving each other's sight.

They looked down at the pages from time to time, and then looked up and wandered along the bookshelves. The sound of those pages turning, accompanied by occasional whispers, made time fly by.

Lan Qi was silent, gently touching the spines of the books with his fingertips, as if engaging in a silent dialogue with this knowledge.

He opened a book, flipping through it page by page, his eyes focused and deep.

Hyperion secretly observed Lan Qi's expression.

She always felt that Lan Qi seemed more certain about something in his heart after that vote, but she couldn't tell what he was planning.

...

So throughout the morning, everyone searched for books in the library.

Each book suspected of being key had to pass through the hands of at least two different groups of challengers to ensure that no one concealed information.

Until close to noon.

Someone opened a book, causing everyone's [Mission Objective 2: Explore the secrets and dangers hidden in the castle] to change simultaneously.

An additional note was added: [A core piece of information has been collected, awaiting interpretation].

The crowd looked at each other and found that the young master of the Merchant Guild was opening an ancient book with demonic script engraved on the cover, and he also looked at everyone with a confused expression.

"This... records an ancient sealing technique. Gathering the power of the sun, moon, and stars can produce a powerful and eternal sealing force. Similarly, to break this seal, you need to collect fresh blood from the moon and star powers as a guide, and unseal it in reverse while avoiding the sun."

The young master of the Merchant Guild quickly flipped through the pages, reading the key content to everyone with a puzzled expression,

"This is a magic book, I can't understand the specific magical text, does anyone understand sealing techniques?"

The twin guardians behind him were silent, obviously they were assassin-type professions and only knew a few spells.

Not to mention sealing techniques, a type of magic that even few professional mages were skilled in.

People's gazes couldn't help but focus on the mage girl from the Keryth Empire and the priest from the Northern Continent.

Almost only these two had the best chance of understanding it.

"I'm not good at sealing magic."

The priest shook his head in shame.

There were actually not many priests in this era who were good at sealing techniques.

Moreover, in the Northern Continent, sealing techniques were even a notorious type of magic, all because of the heinous acts of mass slaughtering civilians committed by Bishop Ascsan of the Oblivion Sect.

"I understand a little, let me take a look."

The mage girl leading the Keryth Empire team nodded, walked to the young master of the Merchant Guild, and took the book from his hand.

But she quickly flipped through the book until she reached the last page, and could only shake her head helplessly.

"The compilation of this book, a lot of the content is composed of demonic magical text, or rather, a magical text that has not yet fully evolved into its own human magical text."

Said the imperial mage girl.

According to legend, humans initially did not use magic until demons taught magic to humans, and humans began to possess magical power.

However, excessive use of demonic magical text will lead to human distortion, madness, and eventually become monsters. This theory can still be confirmed today.

After a long period of evolution, the ancient human mages gradually improved and created the earliest human magical text, allowing humans to use magic normally without paying a huge price.

The magical text on this ancient book is still in a transitional stage between demonic magical text and human magical text.

Not only can humans not understand it, even demons may not be able to understand it.

(End of this chapter)