Chapter 20: Private Library

Cyanea Lamarckii Volans- Commonly known as Flying Blue Jellyfish, are a beautiful addition to any monsterologist’s collection.

Preying on insects and pests invisible to the eye, these creatures are quite beneficial for libraries, food storage, and farms.

Their mana actively preserves their surroundings, preventing degradation and rot.

Often traveling in packs, these jellyfish have hive-like tendencies. When threatened, they will turn red, attacking their aggressors with a terrifying viciousness.

• Common Creatures Of The Southern Forests by Alvaara Temon

I start by identifying several of the trowels, marking them down in my notebook before placing them in the packs. Then I move onto several pruners and gardening shears.

Tanya runs through the room, examining various plants held in isolation by ancient enclosures. Several of the box-like enclosures had broken down, the plants either having grown out of them or some other problem occurring.

Shar watches the ceiling, and I follow her gaze to where several carriage-sized transparent lizards rest, slowly munching on leaves equally as large as they are.

I tear my gaze away to look back at the surprisingly pristine tools. These might be some of the most valuable things from the entire delve. When humanity can barely travel past its walls, food becomes an important commodity, and things that help with the production of food are priceless. Not to mention the value of being able to care for certain alchemical plants properly.

I identify a simple watering can, then mark it down in my notebook..

A great example of what I mean. Mana-Infused water is unheard of, and I’ve heard of several legendary plants that can’t be grown because they have to be in mana rich environments.

I write down the information, then place it in one of the backpacks. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tanya pulling several seed bags from the table next to us and organizing them in their own way.

Hopefully she knows their names, Identify Artifact doesn’t work on anything living, with rare exceptions.

There’s a second watering can that I write down, and then I find a nice pair of gloves.

I immediately put the gloves on, feeling a lot better about being in a room with several unknown plants. I hadn’t forgotten the black-cap mushrooms from the other day. There’s also a second pair which I put into another bag.

Next, we move onto several planters and pots. They have similar mana-gathering properties to the watering can, along with several other useful gardening abilities.

Some of them are too large to carry in backpacks, but a quick test shows them to be surprisingly light.

Soon enough our bags are full with the larger equipment. Keve picks up the larger pots with ease, holding them in front of him.

I find Tanya studying one of the plants trapped in a transparent box, and convince her to explain each of the seeds she found. They don’t hold much value to me, so I write them down, then offer to let her have them, which brings a huge smile to her face.

After that, we climb the stairs back to camp, drop off our items, and continue back down into the biggest prize of the adventure, for me that is.

The Library.

I pause at the door, water flowing around that same line that protects the ancient room. I turn to the large delving team, clearing my throat. “Alright, so, number one rule. Don’t hit the floating jellyfish. I have a skill for holding books, but it’s private, and I’m vulnerable while using it, so I want everyone to watch the entrances, make sure nothing sneaks up on us.” That’s the best excuse I could come up with. There are skills that hold specific items, similar to Tanya’s tattoos, but they are rather rare, and unique. So it isn’t out of the imagination that I’d want privacy while using it.

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Everyone gives me nods, and we walk into the room.

Gasps of surprise escape everyone as they see the towering shelves of books, and the floating blue jellyfish. I take a moment to enjoy the sight myself. This many books in one place has a beauty all its own, and the effect of the creatures make it feel magical.

Tanya immediately wanders over to one of the jellyfish, studying the long ribbon-like tentacles that float lazily below it. Her eyes move to the other magical creatures, then she turns to me.

“When you’re done, can I ask them to join me?” She holds up a hand, and one of the blue jellyfish gently lands in it.

I look at Keve, who shrugs.

“Yeah, I think so. Let’s get the books first. I’ll give you a signal when I’m done.”

Tanya nods seriously.

We break up into two groups. Tanya and Keve watch the back door leading to the gardens, while the mercenaries and Eyla go to the door leading to the large halls where we’d encountered the Skeleton Knight on my first delve.

I wait until their footsteps are silent before I begin the spell to open a small portal. Then I grab books and place them through it.

There’d been some part of me that worried there wouldn’t be enough room. But as I put books into the portal, I find the worry to be unfounded. Holding it open requires barely any mana, and they disappear one after the other as I put them into the space.

Shar fetches the books on the higher shelves, handing them to me as I slowly clear out the section of the library.

An hour passes, and I call everyone back to share lunch. Keve sits down next to me pulling out his food and quietly eating, while the others gather in a rough circle.

“You really cleared this place fast.” Daron looks over the mostly empty shelves from where he keeps an eye out down the aisle.

“A storage skill like this must be rare.” Eyla adds as she sits on the floor next to me. “No wonder you kept it so quiet.”