Pandora Unchained - B1C56: Coffee-Addicted Mages

The following day, Sorin ate a light breakfast before heading off to the Mages Guild, located just south of the outpost's central square. The guild was a very different sight in the day than in the night, when Haley had dragged him over for testing, not giving him any time to take in the wondrous glass building located at the center of a giant hedge maze.

Said building was a crystalline multi-story complex whose five stories somewhat resembled a mage's hat. Its multiple facets caught the sun, powering spells that automatically darkened these glass walls, giving them a slight blue tinge like that of pure, unaligned mana.

A pillar of pure mana ran from the bottom to the top of the cylinder, then spread out like veins throughout the entire structure to feed the many spell formations required by the building's occupants. But that only applied to the second floor and upward, as most of the first floor was reserved for a sprawling public library and a luxurious reception.

It was early morning, so the guild was dead quiet. The staff manning the many desks in the lobby were chatting amiably while drinking extra-large cups of coffee. Their relaxed demeanor made Sorin temporarily forget some of the building's surprising features, like the automatic sliding glass doors, the well-heated air, and the flashy noticeboards that cycled through various announcements without the need for ink or paper.

"Hello?" said Sorin, stepping up to an unmanned desk nearest one such group of coffee-drinking mages. Did they even hear me? Should I try again, but this time, louder?

Fortunately, one of the nearby coffee drinkers sighed and trudged over to the desk. "How can I help you, Mr…."

"Kepler," said Sorin. "Sorin Kepler. I'm here to see a friend. Daphne Phillips."

"Mage Phillips?" said the man, blinking slowly. He took a drink from his giant coffee mug before swiping at a glass interface and bringing up a list of names and titles. "According to the registry, Mage Philips is currently in her room. I could send her a message notifying her that a visitor is here for her but given the time…"

"Please send the message," said Sorin. "I'm sure that in her case, it doesn't matter what time it is. Also, she's somehow developed the ability to sleepwalk and sleepread, so she could be anywhere.

"Fair enough," said the mage, pressing on a rune beside Daphne's name and injecting mana into it. "Take a seat, and feel free to peruse the public library while you wait. As a non-member, you'll need to remain in the public-access areas."

"Speaking of membership, how does one go about becoming a member?" asked Sorin. "How much does a membership cost? What are the benefits of becoming a member."

At the prospect of registering a new member, the man woke up slightly. "Becoming a member is very easy," the man explained. "The first requirement is that the potential member demonstrate a Tier 0 spell."

Sorin directly summoned a mana needle, then a mana ball. These were, in fact, Tier 0 spells that he'd learned to support his activities as a physician many years ago. He'd since modified the simple spells to accommodate poison mana.

"Are there any other requirements?" asked Sorin.

"No, we're fairly liberal about recruiting members," the man said. "The fact that you've learned a Tier 0 spell is proof that you have sufficient talent in spell craft to least learn a Tier 1 spell if you work hard enough.

"The cost of registration is a 50-gold initial fee. Renewal costs 10 gold every year. The main benefit of membership is free coffee and the ability to browse higher levels of the library. It also grants one the ability to rent out spell practice rooms."

Sorin was surprised by the generous benefits. "I expected membership to be much more expensive. I've been told learning spells is a money sink."

"The amount of expenditure solely depends on the activities or our members," said the man cheerfully. "Would you like to proceed with a membership application?"

Sorin had thought long and hard about how to improve himself for their next adventure, and learning some minor spells was one of these ways. Joining the Mages Guild was unavoidable, so he didn't hesitate to spell the small amount of gold and filled out the surprisingly brief registration form.

Ten minutes later, the clerk handed him a light blue card showing his photograph, name, and member number. The card could be used to gain access to member-only areas and secure free coffee.

"The card is linked to your member account," the clerk explained. "You'll need to top up your account with gold for when you'll inevitably want to make a purchase." Sorin was confused by the certainty of his words. Still, he nodded and made his way to the café to secure a free coffee before heading over to the library.

The Mages Guild is way better than the Adventurers Guild, thought Sorin as he sipped his free coffee. The coffee had been given to him in a spell-insulated mug and came complete with a lid. It was possible to drink through the lid via a small opening that would only activate when pressing against it with one's upper lip. The cup was of high quality, but it strictly couldn't be taken out of the Mages Guild. Failing to return a cup would result in fines.

This place has free coffee, it's clean, and it has enchantments for everything, thought Sorin as he walked through the lobby. The food is reasonably cheap, and there's no need to deal with cockroaches and unsanitary adventurers. I like this place.

Another perk afforded to members was the freedom to bring around a familiar. Familiars of all kinds were allowed to scurry about within 30 meters of their owners. However, their owners were strictly responsible for any damages their familiars caused. Lorimer was overjoyed by this development and was, therefore, on his best behavior. Who knew if Sorin would ever return if he were to misbehave and incur a fine?

The Mages Guild library was one of the largest Sorin had ever laid eyes on. It dwarfed Kepler Clan's comprehensive medical library, which he'd only scanned through a part of despite his quick reading speed and near-photographic memory.

The first floor was reserved for public use. Sorin was pleased to discover thousands of Tier 0 spells and tens of thousands of introductory magical theory books, works of fiction, and papers written by beginner academics, free for perusal even by non-members.

Sorin was still determining how long Daphne would be, so he located several Tier 0 spells that he felt he should have learned as a child and tossed their books on one of the many tables. These included the light spell, the original poison needle spell, poison spray, poison blade, and poison orb. Unlike the mana blade, mana needle, and mana orb spells, the poison versions of these spells were optimized for use with poison mana. They would be able to increase the effects of the spells in his possession by over 50%.

The light spell was first on his list. He read the introductory page but stopped to take a quick sip of coffee. Yet no sooner had he opened the first page did a startling but stern voice speak out. "Rule Violation: Drinking non-water beverages next to an open book. Fine: 5 gold coins."

Sorin's eye twitched. He looked around the library and saw a smattering of pitying but unsurprised expressions. This is ridiculous, thought Sorin. No one warned me of such a role. He carefully set his coffee down before replying to the voice. "There were no rules posted anywhere. I didn't do anything wrong."

As expected, the voice spoke again, but not in the manner he expected. "Rule Violation: Yelling loudly in the public library: 5 gold coins. In reply to your earlier words, ignorance of the rules is no excuse for breaking them. You may pay your fines at the membership desk and familiarize yourself with the complete rules handbook upon leaving the library."

Sorin grumbled inwardly but knew that there was nothing to be done. He didn't wish to be continuously fined, however, so he abandoned the spell books he'd picked out and made his way for the entrance. As he crossed the threshold, however, the stern voice reprimanded him once again. "Abandoning books without returning them to a librarian, custodian, or clerk: 5 gold coins."

"Oh, come on," said Sorin, storming off. His initial positive impression of the Mages Guild was now tarnished. These mages weren't just addicted to coffee – they were addicted to extracting money from people as well!

***

Several hours later, Sorin was seated in front of a pile of Tier 0 spell books. He read at a slow and steady pace. Still, every once in a while, he stopped his reading, used his finger as a bookmark, and took a sip from his enchanted coffee mug, taking special care not to spill a single drop.

Finger bookmarking was the agreed-upon best way to keep one's spot without breaking the rules. Dog-earing was unacceptable and punishable by mandatory attendance to a 3-day seminar on appropriate book-handling practices.

Reviewing and updating his mana blade, mana needle, and mana orb spells only required a half hour for each, as their spell frameworks were almost identical to his current spells. As for poison spray, it was only a Tier 0 spell and functioned on similar principles, so it took him a full hour. The light spell, however, took two hours to master.

But an hour is much faster than the first time I tried learning spells, thought Sorin. He remembered learning mana needle for the first time; it had been a three-day headache-inducing ordeal that had strengthened his determination never to learn advanced spells. It seems Assessor Haley's assessment of my mage potential is accurate. Learning simple spells isn't challenging at all, and I might even be able to learn higher-tier one-star spells if I'm willing to spend time on it.

After learning the light spell, Sorin was at a loss for what to do. Fortunately, this was when a familiar sleep-deprived figure entered the library, coffee, and open book in hand. Her actions were mechanical and well-practiced. As she brought up the coffee cup to her lips for a drink, she closed her book, leaving a finger in place to mark her spot. By the time her cup was back down again, the book was fully open, and she continued where she left off.

"You came," said Daphne as she arrived at Sorin's study table. "How much did you get fined before you went to read the rule book?"

"Twenty-five gold coins," said Sorin grumpily. "This system is seriously messed up. Why wouldn't they just have you read the book before breaking the rules and getting punished for it?"

"Cash cow," said Daphne, taking another long sip of coffee. "Also, its easier to make people remember the rules when they'd been stung. Much better to get people breaking the rules now instead of when they're learning their first familiar-summoning circle in a public location and get a bunch of people killed."

"It's that dangerous?" asked Sorin.

"Indeed," said Daphne. "Especially when younger mages of the male variety set their hearts on a succubus familiar."

"I noticed you don't have a familiar," said Sorin.

Daphne shrugged. "They're troublesome. Not very useful. Maybe I'll consider it when I can summon a Stygian firebat or something. By the way, you should pick a better time to visit. Most of us mages go to bed at 3 or 4 in the morning." She let out a loud yawn to accentuate her point.

"For some reason, I thought you'd all be enthusiastic early birds," said Sorin. "Also, you're always half asleep. I figured it didn't matter."

"Reasonable," said Daphne as she took a seat. She flipped through the books Sorin had been studying. "Light. Blade. Spray. Orb. Needle. Different shapes for the same mana. All useful in different situations, especially given your lack of ranged options. You're clearly here to learn spells, so I assume you're here for advice from an expert on what to learn. What are your needs? What is your budget?"

"My budget is 1400 gold," said Sorin.

"Tight," said Daphne. "But money's always tight for spellcasters. Continue."

"I'm in need of close and mid-range spells," said Sorin. "I usually find myself in close combat, but there's no reason not to support you if the situation arises. I made a small wish list – can you tell me your thoughts?"

"First, I want a medium-ranged spell that can help me supplement your superior bombardment in case we're surrounded. I can use an acid-type poison for this spell.

"Second, I'd like a needle-type spell. My paralytic poison isn't potent, so I need a way to pierce defenses. I'm a decent shot at short range, and my reaction speed is very high. With practice, I'll be able to strike acupoints.

"Finally, I'd like a blade spell and a spray spell. I already have a close-combat technique, but fighting the minotaur, I found it difficult to penetrate his mana shields and physical defenses. As for the spray spell, I need it because lobbing an orb of acid isn't very practical when you've got six demons in your face."

Daphne took another sip of coffee. "Well analyzed. And you also recognized the superiority of fire magic. Spell potential? Mana reserves?"

"My spell potential is garbage," said Sorin. "B-grade."

"The cut-off for mage material is B-grade, so I'd hardly call that garbage," said Daphne.

"As for my mana reserves, they're impressive," said Sorin.

"Most men usually think their mana reserves impressive," said Daphne. "Until they compare them to others and find they could always be bigger."

Sorin, who'd taken the opportunity to sip on his coffee, choked on the hot liquid. Fortunately, he reacted quickly to shield the books on the table with his sleeves so not a drop of liquid fell on them.

"S-grade," said Sorin. "Apologies for not being more specific."

"S-grade mana reserves but only B-grade mage potential?" said Daphne. "What a strange combination. With such mana reserves, I'd normally advise a mage to go for bigger, flashier spells. Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to learn one even if I gave you a full year."

"It took me 2 hours to learn the light spell," said Sorin. "Please be gentle."

"Don't worry," said Daphne with a wink. "I'll take care of you. This young lady has a lot more experience than you think. I know this library like the back of my hand – you'd be hard-pressed to find a librarian that can help you out better than I can."