The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 336 The Secret of the Library (Please subscribe, collect, and vote)
The next morning, Ryan went to the library alone. After handing Professor Dumbledore's signed note to Madam Pince, he was surprised to learn that he could not take the books out.

"You can't take it out, you can only read it in the designated area. Why is that?" Ryan asked puzzled. "I have borrowed books from the restricted area before, but there weren't so many rules and regulations."

"Because the books that Professor Dumbledore has approved for you to read are beyond the scope of a student. Some of these books are themselves a source of danger, while others have various defects. For example, the carriers of the books have become very fragile after being used for too long. In this case, you can only read them in designated places to ensure safety. The safety here refers not only to the books, but also to the people who read them."

After saying that, Madam Pince looked Ryan up and down. "Since Professor Dumbledore agreed to let you enter the book storage area, he should believe that you are qualified enough to read the precious books stored there. But I still need to warn you, if you destroy any book in there, I will kick you out immediately. Even if Professor Dumbledore comes."

"Okay, follow me." After warning Ryan and making sure he listened carefully, Madam Pince led Ryan to the restricted area. Unexpectedly, they did not stop at the bookshelf in the restricted area. Instead, they walked along the corridor between the bookshelves to the depths of the restricted area until they stopped in front of a wall.

"This is?" "This is where the important books are stored. You don't think that the so-called restricted book area that the lower grade students can sneak into during their night outings has any dangerous or important books stored there, do you?"

Ryan finally understood why Harry was able to enter the restricted area in his first year, because the restricted area was not a particularly important place. This also explained why Hogwarts, as a thousand-year-old prestigious school, had such low security in places where important books were kept, when the wizarding world attached so much importance to knowledge.

On this wall there is a lifelike relief of a baboon holding a crescent moon. In traditional mysticism, this image is a symbol of Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom. And Ryan doesn't know if it's an illusion, but he feels that the baboon's hair is slightly bent, and the area on the top of its head looks a little fresher.

Does it mean being extremely smart? Ryan suddenly had a very strange idea, and he began to worry about his hairline. But Madam Pince didn't notice Ryan's random thoughts. She put the note on the empty hand of the baboon relief, and as soon as the note was placed on the hand, the relief moved.

The relief baboon raised the note in his hand and pointed it at the moon in his other hand. It was then that Ryan realized that the moon was carved from a single piece of moonstone and placed on top.

The moon carved from moonstone suddenly emitted silvery moonlight, which was clearly visible even in the daytime. Under the moonlight, Professor Dumbledore's signature on the parchment also emitted a golden glow that shone in harmony with the silvery moonlight.

After the inspection, the baboon returned to its original state. Madam Pince took the note and handed it to Ryan, then grabbed a branch on the relief and pulled hard.

The stone branch was stretched like rubber. When Madam Pince let go, the branch returned to its original shape. Then there was a cracking sound, and a wall near the relief began to move upwards. Finally, a hole the size of an ordinary door was revealed.

"Okay, follow me and don't touch anything." Madam Pince gave a warning and walked directly to the big hole in the wall, while Ryan followed closely behind.

This is a very tall room, the main body is made of a kind of gray, very rough stone, which looks inconspicuous. But Ryan immediately recognized that this is a very good magic stone, which can resist the attack of magic, and is extremely expensive outside. Fred said that in the magic world, only the top families can use various materials to build their own treasure rooms. And here, the whole house is made of this material at a glance. Entering from the small door, Ryan felt like he had entered the kingdom of giants when he stepped on the rough stone floor. A large number of bookshelves one or two stories high stood there like small mountains, and there were also exquisitely crafted bronze escalators and platforms next to them.

"Herbs, magical creatures, enchantments, history--" Various books were placed in different areas according to their categories. There were not only paper books on the bookshelves, but also books written on wood chips and papyrus rolls. Ryan even saw large stone slabs with various characters carved on them at the bottom of several bookshelves.

"How magnificent!" Ryan couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice. He had never known there was such a place inside Hogwarts before.

"This has been here since the founding of the school." Madam Pince's voice was filled with excitement and pride. "Back then, the four great masters stored the books and materials they collected here. Over the next thousand years, Hogwarts would store very important or very dangerous materials that were not suitable to be left outside here. It is only open to students or professors who have been approved by the headmaster. And anyone who enters this house will sign a magical contract with Hogwarts itself, and cannot reveal anything inside to others."

Ryan nodded, which would explain why he hadn't heard of this before.

"Okay, put your hand on it. We need to do a magic certification here. If you feel the magic power in your body being stimulated, don't resist." The two people came to the center of the house. In the center of the library was an open space with a stone platform carved out of white marble.

After placing his hand on the top of the stone platform, which was inlaid with a whole piece of sunlight stone that was larger than his palm, Ryan felt as if something was sweeping across his palm, and he felt a tingling sensation. Moreover, this thing also carried magic when scanning, causing the magic power in Ryan's body to respond like a conditioned reflex.

"Maybe magic and science will end up in the same place in the end." Ryan thought, because this stone platform reminded him of the palm print recognition system seen in science fiction movies.

"You can put your hands down now. Your magic fluctuations have been recorded. Next time you come here, just put your hands on the hand of the baboon relief to open the door. Also, your permission is limited to alchemy. Therefore, you can only move around in these areas in the future. There will be magic barriers blocking you in other areas. If you force your way through, a warning will be triggered. At the same time, no one can stay in this house for more than six hours a day. If you exceed the limit, you will be ejected by the magic inside. Finally, I wish you can gain the knowledge you want in here." After saying that, Madam Pince left neatly, leaving Ryan alone here.

"It's time to get started." Ryan muttered to himself and walked towards the alchemy area. Even though the alchemy he had mastered before was very profound, the rules in different worlds would be different.

Therefore, if you want to fully exert your power in this world, then learning the alchemy of this world is a good way. At least it is much better than trying to figure it out by yourself through various attempts.

(End of this chapter)