Given that the book was less than twenty pages in total, it only took Izroth a brief moment to finish reading it. However, the book that seemed to contain the least amount of information within it actually took him the longest amount of time to properly organize his thoughts.
Of course, he had no problem when it came to comprehending the content itself, but there were still a few parts that he remained uncertain about. This was due to the fact that there were some words and symbols that he had not yet come across before and there was also a lack of context surrounding it.
Despite that minor setback, Izroth believed that this book was more than worth the same price as his Sword of the Storm. To be honest, this single thin book was a priceless treasure compared to his sword. The reason was that it could be shared freely with others! Not only that, but the benefits Izroth gained after reading it were not small.
He discovered some interesting things when it came to defining a Source. For example, he found that no two Sources are ever the same. In other words, even if two Sources start out identical in every way, in the end, they will both eventually evolve and form into something unique to its host over time.
There was only one known exception to this rule. Those born with a pure true dragon bloodline all possessed what was known as a Twin Source. The secret behind the unnatural strength of a true dragon from the moment of their birth until adulthood was that every true dragon was born with a Twin Source.
A Twin Source meant that two different Sources were being contained within a single host. One of the true dragons Sources were the exact same and was the main core of their strength. The other was a just like any other Source, unique to its own host.
'According to what I've read about true dragons, they are not the most sociable race, especially when it comes to dealing with mortals. One has to wonder how such a secret of their strength fell into the hands of mortals.'
It may have taken hundreds, or even thousands of years to discover that information about the true dragons!
The other thing that grabbed Izroth's attention was how each source would evolve into something unique depending on its host. At the moment, the main difference between his Source and that of the others who possessed the Soul Essence trait was the quantity of Essence and trait level.
However, he was the only member to acquire Soul Pressure. While it could simply be because of the level difference, Izroth believed that because of his original soul strength, it was a skill unique to him.
He had not forgotten about the special note listed under the trait. The soul has no limits!
One of the things that had bothered Izroth for quite some time now is that his Essence had stopped growing and his trait level was stuck at 16.0. However, it clearly stated on the trait that when the user reaches a trait level of 20, they will unlock an additional effect.
At first, his Essence would go up by itself as he leveled up. But, it halted its progress out of nowhere. Izroth had no idea how to advance his Essence any further, at least until now.
According to the Power of Source, there were two known and practiced methods to increases one's own Source strength.
The first method was to learn something called a Source Chant. A Source Chant was similar to a Soul Cultivation technique from the Seven Realms, but there was one major difference between the two. While it was possible for one to cultivate a powerful Soul Cultivation technique even with a weak physical body, the same could not be said for a Source Chant.
If one lacked the proper Willpower or overall strength, then instead of helping to progress their Source, it could backfire and end up destroying it! Therefore, one had to be extremely careful in what Source Chant they chose to use depending on the current strength of their Source.
'There are still a few uncertainties about trying to implement a Soul Cultivation technique in place of a Source Chant. I'll have to wait until I obtain more information before giving it a try. If the two turn out to be compatible, then I will not have to go through the trouble of searching for multiple Source Chants.'
The Source Chant was a popular method, however, the most useful and clearcut method was the second one. If one obtained a treasure birthed and formed from the world itself, then one could use the natural energy contained within that to increase the power of their Source.
This was one of the main reasons the leader of the League of the Eidolon was willingly to chase Gear so close to Zhi's territory. The amount of energy contained within a single page of the Book of Beginnings was something that would have risen her Source up to a whole new level!
Unfortunately, while the second method was the most rewarding, it was also the most difficult to pull off. After all, how challenging was it to find a treasure birthed and formed from the world? Therefore, the most common method to training one's Source was still the use of a Source Chant.
Although there were only two official methods listed, there was a third method that the vast majority remained skeptical about. It has never been proven or studied in-depth, therefore, it remained a shaky topic. Nevertheless, a small sidenote was written inside the book about the third method.
There are only around 1 in 1 million people born with something known as Perfect Source Compatibility. Those fortunate enough to be born with Perfect Source Compatibility would have their Source grow naturally over time as they become stronger. There was no clear pattern to this method which was the main reason that many remained skeptical about it.
Izroth took a few moments to ponder everything. Surprisingly, his knowledge level had increased by 25.0! That almost equal to the knowledge level he gained from the information of every book on the second floor combined!
The Power of Source contained a simple and basic Source Chant which Izroth decided to use. The Source Chant was just as its name sounded, a chant. However, the language was nothing Izroth had seen before today. Luckily, the chant had been translated to one of the common languages underneath the original text.
Izroth spent around one hour using the Source Chant. However, he could not help but be disappointed with the end results.
'Even a full hour brings about such little progress. It seems this basic Source Chant is...'
In total, Izroth's trait level for his Soul Essence had jumped from 16.0 to just 16.40! In other words, he had only gained 0.40 trait level in one hour!
Although he was disappointed with the results, if Orion was there at the moment he would probably strangle Izroth for his own ignorance. To increase his Source at such a monstrous speed using only a basic Source Chant, how could he possibly be disappointed with the results?! Just what did he think a Source was?!
Izroth returned the Power of Source book to his inventory and used Flickering Steps to swiftly place the library books back into their proper positions on the bookshelves.
Even though he was unable to find any definitive clues with regards to the second part of his world quest, he did manage to acquire a few hints and leads that held a great deal of potential.
After he finished returning the second floor to its original state, he left the Amaharpe palace library since he did not have access to the third floor. Now that he acquired a new wave of knowledge, there were a few things he wanted to test and so he decided to leave the capital city Amaharpe and head out to explore.
'There's an interesting little place not too far from the Blazing Tempris Domain. I'll pay a small visit to that place first.'
...
The next day as evening approached...
Izroth had just logged back into RML after receiving a text message from Halls. Unfortunately, he had to cancel at the last moment to take care of his younger siblings who had fallen ill. Although it was nothing too serious, he did not want to be a full hour away if anything happened which was understandable.
Of course, Izroth and Guan Yu understood this and decided to hold off on the celebration gathering. After all, since it was partially Halls' idea, it would not be right of them to celebrate without him being there.
Therefore, Izroth who had logged out just moments ago had logged in once again. The moment he logged in, he received a message from Mirage, the player he first met back at the Blazing Tempris Domain.
〈System Alert: Player Mirage has sent you a message, "Didn't you just say you have somewhere to be? You aren't trying to purposely avoid me, are you? Don't tell me you got stood up on your date? Does this mean you're free right now?"〉
'When did I mention anything about a date? A wild imagination indeed.'
Izroth could only helplessly shake his head after he read Mirage's message. Just before he logged off, Mirage invited him to go on a quest with her and a few other friends. Of course, he mentioned that Present Order and Sinking Clouds would not be there since she knew that it would only lead to trouble. However, Izroth told her that he already had plans.
So when he logged back on less than fifteen minutes later after saying he already had plans, he could see how that may seem a bit odd. However, without going into too many details with her, Izroth responded to her message to say that his plans had been canceled. In return, Mirage spammed him with some coordinates until the system temporarily timed out her messages.
Given her level of persistence, as well as the fact that he currently had no plans, Izroth decided to accept Mirage's invitation. After all, he may have been used to receiving quests that were S-ranked or higher, but he did not forget the value of an A-ranked quest. Even if it would not give him anything close to an epic piece of equipment, the reward itself would still be useful.
Nearly one hour later, Izroth arrived at a small remote village that was located not too far away from the border that divided the Amaharpe-Proximus kingdoms. Since he was traveling by himself, Izroth could use his full speed for the entire journey. Therefore, a journey that would have taken him around 3-4 hours with a normal party only took him close to one hour!
Even though the small village was remote, there were still a decent amount of players and NPCs traveling through it. Unfortunately, Izroth's Realm Chart did not include this small village on it. In fact, this entire area was still blank and the only thing that was clearly shown was the borders between the two kingdoms.
But, when he entered the village and arrived at the coordinates Mirage gave him, he found that it was called Terisyllis Village. The reason behind its name was that the village grew a beautiful plant known as the Terisyllis Flower
While it was not necessarily rare, those flowers would bloom en masse every year on the same day. There were even people who traveled from far away every year just to few such a spectacle.
It took Izroth a few moments before he reached the meeting location of the local village inn. Though, to call such a tiny building with only five rooms an inn was a bit of a stretch.
When Izroth entered the lobby of the inn, he immediately spotted Mirage sat down at a table with two other players. To his surprise, Izroth actually recognized one of those two players. This caused him to furrow his brows.
'What are they doing here?'