After a 15 minute walk, we returned to the mage tower. It turned out that the city of London was divided into three broad sections: the divine west, the secular east, and the developmental south. At least that was my impression as I walked eastward. There were more religious affiliated buildings including the Convent and the Church in the western part of London while the eastern region seemed to have more merchants and shops. The southern area, on the other hand, was where the slums were located. In addition, there were heavy smoke from smithies and, further south, flying seagulls could be seen, meaning the presence of a harbor further in that direction.

As the two of us stood in front of the looming, circular tower, I realized something important: I had no idea how to contact Mordekai. When we used the portal to enter London, the man was already waiting on the other side. He personally escorted us to his private residence.

Given the assassination attempt, I had to remind myself to be more cautious of the people I met because I was in the middle of a power struggle for control of the kingdom. Thus, there was a possibility, however slim, that Mordekai was working against me. Therefore, I needed to broaden my circle of contacts at the Magic Guild in London, rather than rely solely on the generosity of Mordekai. Thus, I looked forward to meeting other mages at the guild.

When I saw a person exit the tower, I quickly accosted him. The person wore a dark green shirt with matching pants and black leather boots. He also had a backpack and appeared to be in his early twenties. He had medium-length, dark blonde hair and deep-blue eyes. I wondered if the man was a mage because he was dressed like an adventurer. However, I saw that he also carried a black metal staff with a ruby on top and this convinced me that he was indeed a mage. I checked his caption and his name was "Fondus Eidred."

"Yes?" the mage said when he saw me blocking his path. He seemed to be in a hurry and annoyance was on his face.

"Greetings, Brother. My name is Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, a member of the Magic Guild from Southampton," I introduced myself. "I'm seeking a guide to the areas outside London. Where can I find such a person?" I inquired.

The mage expressed his honest surprise. "I'm Fondus Eidred. Guildmaster Mordekai has asked me to take you on a little field trip. I was heading over to the Big Oak Tree to find you," he grinned.

"Praise Lady Luck!" I said and raised my hands above my head.

"Indeed," Fondus nodded. "Why don't we head back to your guest room and discuss this trip further? I have several questions for you."

Remembering the assassination attempt and the possibility of more assassins awaiting my return, I shook my head. "I can't go there right now," I said.

Fondus' brows rose but he declined to inquire further.

"Is it possible for us to somewhere else to talk?" I asked.

"How about the guild library?" he suggested.

"That's perfect," I agreed. I turned to Van. "Can you get the rest of our companions and meet us in the library?" I requested.

Van was hesitant for a moment. "If I can't find Rijana, then I won't be able to go inside the mage tower," he pointed out. After all, the paladin was not a member of the Magic Guild.

"I'll come with you," Fondus offered.

"Thank you," Van nodded.

"And I'll be waiting in the library," I added. I turned and entered the mage tower. Once I stepped inside, I used the power word, "Bibliotheca!" The world turned into a kaleidoscope as I was immediately teleported to another floor of the building.

When the dizzy spell faded, I found myself standing in a huge lobby. From my vantage point, I saw that the library had eight floors! This was easily the biggest library I had seen in this world. I decided to remain on the first floor.

I went to the reference desk and approached the librarian. The person was a gnome named "Tenzic." Like all the gnomes I had met, he wore huge glasses which dangled over his tiny nose.

The librarian looked up from his book. "How may I help you, Brother?" he asked politely.

"Greetings! I am seeking a map of the area surrounding London," I replied.

"Are you seeking to make a copy of the map or to purchase one?" he inquired.

"Can I buy one from you?" I asked with surprise.

The gnome grinned. "The guild needs money to maintain the library. And selling maps is an easy way to generate revenue."

"How much?"

"10 silver pieces."

"Then I'll buy one."

"Please wait here while I get you the map." Tenzic left his desk and went inside a small office. A few minutes later, he returned with a scroll holder.

I placed the payment on the desk and took the scroll holder.

"Thank you for your patronage," the librarian said and nodded.

I reciprocated and walked away from his desk. I looked around and I eventually found an empty table. I walked over and took the map out of storage. I spread the map on the desk. I sat down and waited for my companions to arrive. As I waited, I eventually fell asleep.

***

I awoke to a disturbance. The top of my head was being patted. My lower right earlobe was being flicked continuously. I opened my eyes and learned the identities of my tormentors: Bila and Dovarata, respectively. I roughly knocked their hands away with my right forearm.

"About time you woke up," a voice said.

My eyes wandered about until they landed on the speaker: Fondus. The mage was annoyed at me. "Sorry to keep you waiting," I apologized.

"It's okay," Bila said and patted my head again.

The guide cleared his throat and looked at the map that I had purchased.

I discovered that it had been marked with a red "X" over "Primrose Hill." "Who marked my map and why?" I asked while pointing at the X.

"I did," Fondus answered. "Mordekai said you're looking for certain ruins in the hills around London. As you can tell by my clothing, I love to travel and explore. Even though I'm a mage by trade, I still enjoy visiting landmarks and ruins. From what the Guildmaster said, I believe the ruins you seek are located at Primrose Hill."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" I challenged him.

The explorer smiled. "Because I already visited the ruins."

That got my attention. "Go on."

"There was a cavern at the base of the hill. It led to a passageway with a set of stairs at the end. The stairs emptied into a hallway made of a metal which I had never seen before. It was completely black in color. There was a door with a strange riddle: 'Only one not of this world may open.' And sure enough, I could not open the door. I tried blasting it with magic. I hired strong men to use crowbars to open it. I even hired a thief. Nothing worked. So I'm hoping that you will come up with a way to open the door, Brother Mulligan," Fondus explained while spreading his hands. The man was putting all his cards on the table and hoping that I will reciprocate.

However, I maintained my poker face. "How long will it take to get there?"

"About a half-day from here," Fondus replied with slight disappointment.

"Can we leave now?" I asked.

"Sure."

When we passed by a general goods store on the street, we went inside to purchase a day's worth of rations and water. Unfortunately, I had left my messenger bag back in my room and it had my travel rations.

Fortunately, Dovarata's Bag of Holding was able to store our supplies.

We passed through the northern gate with a perfunctory examination from the guards. Fondus walked ahead of us and said, "Primrose Hill."

The guards waved for us to continue walking. Apparently, Fondus was well known to them . . . and trusted.

Once we left the city, it was a walk through the woods followed by a steady but uphill climb up the hill. We took a brief break for lunch, which consisted of hard bread, dried fruits, and nuts.

Bila looked at me with puppy eyes as she ate the bland food.

Apparently, she wanted to make me feel guilty so that I will treat her to a nice meal when we returned to London. Heck, we were all suffering and wished we were eating better food.

We finished lunch in 10 minutes and continued our journey. As we walked, I activated my Spirit Sense and Navigation Sense periodically to check our surroundings. I learned that there were plenty of animals all around us. But I found nothing stalking us.

By the time we reached the entrance of the cavern, it was dusk.

I cast a Light spell and directed the Light sphere to enter the cavern. When I peered inside, I saw that the cavern was only six feet wide. There was not enough space for the entire party to spend the night inside. Thus, the party decided to make their camp in front of the cavern.

Fondus, on the other hand, decided to sleep inside the cave anyway.

"Are you sure it's safe?" I asked him.

"Of course," the mage smiled. "Besides, I will create an alarm that will trigger if something enters the cavern from the passageway."

"Okay. Suit yourself," I shrugged. The guy had already visited the place once. Thus, I understood his lack of concern for any danger from within. Frankly, I thought Fondus was being overconfident because it was possible for snakes and other animals to discover the ruins and make their dens inside after his visit. But a check using my Spirit Sense found nothing within.

In the interest of saving time, I had thought about entering the Ph'laen Ruins during the night. But I rejected the idea because the party had spent the past several hours hiking. And entering these ruins in a tired condition would be problematic if not outright dangerous for the party because I didn't know what defenses had been left behind in the ruins. The first Ph'laen Ruins, in particular, had some rather nasty traps. Thus, the more prudent decision was to rest for the night and begin the exploration of the ruins the next morning.

Bila and Bjoukin went into the woods to hunt some game for dinner while we made camp.

I was openly skeptical that their hunt will be successful because it was so hard to see. Thus, I was amazed when the pair returned to camp a half-hour later; each hunter carried a hare.

The two skinned the animals and roasted them over the open flames and then split the cooked meat equally amongst the party members.

I was very happy to be wrong about their abilities to hunt in the dark. I had forgotten that Bila, as a cat girl, could see in the dark while Bjoukin had his superior vision as an elf.

Surprisingly, Dovarata refused her share of the meat. "I'll go hunt for my own food," the dracon said and then flew into the woods.

After dinner, I took the time to clear up my in-game notifications. I received a total of 125 XP for using my abilities. Once they were cleared away, I sat next to Rijana and sought her advice as my magic instructor. I took out my spellbook and made a request: "Can you take a look at my repertoire and then recommend what spells I should add to my spellbook?"

"Sure," the enchanter smiled. She took my spellbook and slowly flipped through the pages. When she finished checking my book, she closed it and said, "By my count, you currently have 19 spells in your book. What's your Intelligence score?"

"35."

My teacher whistled. "I didn't expect your score to be that high!" she exclaimed in surprise.

I shrugged. It was true that my Intelligence attribute was very high. I was a good student back on Earth and that translated over when I became a Player Character in this world. A high Intelligence score was important to mages because the limit in the number of spells mages could learn was tied to the Intelligence attribute. Thus, my current limit was 35 spells. In addition to the 19 spells I knew already, I had to save slots for the various travel spells plus Anti-Magic Shell, which I could not learn because my professional level was still too low.

"You only have one spell in the Light sphere," Rijana remarked. "I would suggest learning an offensive Light spell, which is especially effective against the undead. However, Light magic is the rarest type and vendors frequently overcharge for scrolls from the Light sphere, if they become available at all. You might need to trade for them instead by offering Anti-Magic Shell once you learn it."

"I see. In other words, I could create my own scrolls?" I asked.

"Yes," she smiled. "But the process isn't easy. You need to have master-level proficiency in the sphere of the spell you wish to transcribe plus the General sphere. You also need to cast Enchant Magic Item on the scroll and there is always a chance of failure depending on the tier of the spell," Rijana explained.

"Can't I simply try to transcribe the spell until I succeed?" I asked.

My teacher laughed at me. "What about the materials?" she reminded me. "You need higher grade parchment and ink in order to increase the chance of success. That costs money. Lots and lots of money. There is a reason why not many mages go into the business of selling magic scrolls: it's a gamble. And if you end up on an extended losing streak, you'll be spending all your money on the materials for nothing."

"Listen to her. She's right," Fondus interrupted us. The mage had been politely following our conversation. "I've had several mage friends try their hand at becoming magic scroll merchants. They all went broke. You gotta have Lady Luck on your side in order to stay in this business," he said.

I smiled at the remark. I had the divine mark of Lady Luck on my forearm and I had the special ability to reroll once per day. I decided to not mention it to him because Fondus was still a stranger who hadn't earned my trust. Yup, the assassination attempt on my life today was still on my mind.

"Would you like to trade a spell with me?" Fondus asked.

My brows shot up at the offer. He was suggesting that we copy from each other's spellbook. I glanced over at my magic instructor.

"That depends on your magic proficiencies," Rijana interjected with a faint smile.

"I know Earth and Water," Fondus replied and puffed his chest out.

I stifled my giggle. His pose was a dead ringer for Dovarata, who was still away on her hunt.

Unfortunately, someone nearby lacked restraint. Bjoukia giggled while pointing at Fondus and she received an elbow in her rib from her brother. "Ow!"

Fondus looked at the two elves with curiosity but they had turned away from him.

Rijana opened my spellbook and flipped through the pages again. "Do you know Acid Arrow, Iceball, Armor, Web, and Earth Spike?" she asked.

"Yes, they are in my spellbook," he nodded.

"Then my student has nothing to offer you," she replied.

Fondus raised his hand. "Hold it. I'm missing something here, aren't I? You said a moment ago that he has 19 spells in his book. You just listed 5 spells. Even if you add spells from Light and General spheres, that won't add up to 19 spells. What elemental spheres does he possess?" he asked with an insistent tone of voice.

Rijana turned toward me. It was my decision to reveal my status.

I became annoyed with her for pushing the responsibility on my shoulder. Fine. I exhaled and answered him. "I have all six: Water, Earth, Air, Fire, Light, and Dark."

Fondus refused to accept my answer at face value. He rudely reached with his hand for my spellbook.

I nodded at Rijana and she handed over my book to him.

The skeptical mage quickly flipped through the pages in my spellbook. His face reflected his shock and disbelief. He closed the book gently and handed it back to me. "I apologize for not believing you, Brother Mulligan." He bowed deeply to me.

I waved my hand dismissively. "It's fine. I know my situation is uncommon."

Fondus smiled. "Let me make it up to you by allowing you to copy a spell from me." He took out his own spellbook and turned the pages over. When he found the spell he sought, he showed it to me: Summon Elemental. "It's a fifth-tier General spell that requires the skill level of 5 or higher in the element that you wish to summon the elemental. I noticed that you don't know any summoning spells. This spell is perfect for you as an Archmage," he explained.

I looked at my magic instructor for permission to copy from his spellbook and she granted permission with a nodded. "I accept your generous offer." I took out my writing equipment and spent the next three hours copying the spell. The spell required a basis of 15 mana to cast along with the proper elemental material. For each tier in power beyond the first, the summoning will cost another 15 mana. In other words, the spell was costly the more powerful the minion summoned. As I copied the spell, dice rolled inside my head. "Read magic SUCCESSFUL. Level 7, +100 XP. General spell LEARNED: Summon Elemental. +200 XP."

"Congratulations," Fondus said with a smile. He took back his spellbook and entered the cavern to retire for the evening.

As I put away from my spellbook and writing equipment, my magic instructor patted my back and said, "Good job!" I smiled at her in appreciation. I unrolled my bedroll near the campfire and soon fell asleep.