From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 507 The Almanac of Karthus
The three returned to the room where the portal was located, and then passed through a locked wooden door.

Beside the wall where treasure chests were placed, Tolna led Ivy and Gale into the underground study belonging to Lorokan.

The study is located symmetrically to the secret room where the oil lamp was stored, and even the protective measures are the same illusion walls.

However, it is clear that Luo Ruokan used this room much more frequently. In addition to several stone bookshelves filled with books, there was a well-arranged desk and chair, as well as a silver cup with red wine stains inside.

“The Book of Joyful Encyclopedia is right there!” Tolna pointed to the top shelf of the stone bookshelf, where the book, radiating a green aura, lay quietly. Unlike the Book of Red Knights’ Strategy Guide, which had some protection, it was simply placed there.

“Plane magic.” Ivy had already confirmed the contents of the book even before stepping into the room. “This is a field I am very familiar with.”

As a legendary spellcaster, the [Wheel Explorer] excels at traversing the boundaries between worlds. The barrier between the Prime Material Plane and the Outer Plane is very easy for Ivy to break.

Moreover, he was also very familiar with the dimensional magic emanating from "The Joyful Garden". Previously in Rasven, when Archdruid Halsin saved the spirits of the earth, he had prayed to Sylvanas for power to open a portal to the Fairy Wilderness.

The magic emanating from behind that portal was the same as the book before them—a wild power filled with fantasy and soft light.

The Fairy Wilderness is inhabited by all sorts of fairies, most of whom are loyal to the two royal courts that rule that plane.

The Summer Court of Queen Titania, and the Twilight Court of Queen Darkness.

The royal court of Xia was also known as the Joyful Court, which was the place that the author of "The Joyful Court" once mistakenly entered.

Tolna took the book off the shelf and handed it to Ivy with great respect.

Ivy nodded her thanks and quickly began browsing.

Although it exudes the magic of the Fairy Wilderness, the "Encyclopedia of Joy" is not a rare book. It is just that since the distance between the Prime Material Plane and the Fairy Wilderness is not far, some of its characteristics have permeated through the words on the book.

However, Ivy still gained a lot of dimensional knowledge from this book. First of all, opening a portal to the Fairy Wilderness was no longer difficult for him, and he could even directly point to the Joyful Court. Moreover, with this connection, he could use Oathbinding spells to directly summon creatures belonging to the Fairy Wilderness, not just limited to apostles and other fairy creatures belonging to the Joyful Court.

After quickly browsing through the book, Ivy waved it at Gail, who waved it away.

He was reading private letters belonging to Luo Ruokan; since they were spread out on the table, he figured he might as well read them.

“Aside from the fact that it might easily teleport people to the Fairy Wilderness, this book doesn’t pose any particular danger. It’s safe to keep it in the secret vault of the Wizarding General Store.” Ivy watched as Tolna put the “Encyclopedia of Joy” back on the shelf and then said, “But since I’ve already helped protect the “Red Knight’s Strategic Tutorial,” I’ll just include this one as well.”

Ivy made a few hand gestures, then pointed to the books on the bookshelf that were still emitting a green light. A beam of light of the same color shot out, completely concealing the dimensional magic emanating from "The Joyful Garden of the Encyclopedia," making it look like an ordinary, large magic book.

Thorna had developed a certain immunity to Ivy's powerful spellcasting abilities, and now she simply asked curiously, "Master Doom is so knowledgeable about planar magic, is it because of Strathaiven's presence in other planes?"

“The plane where Striven is located is not my original plane either. I only found that university after I became able to travel between planes.” Ivy shook her head. “Magic is a truth that applies to many worlds.”

“It’s unimaginable…other planes and worlds…” Tolna said wistfully, but she quickly remembered her duty. “The remaining two vaults are heavily guarded. Please allow me to shut them down first to prevent accidental activation.”

"That's so thoughtful of you, Miss Torna," Ivy nodded in thanks.

Tolna gave him a warm smile and left the hidden study in Lorokan.

With the staff at the witchcraft general store gone, Gale was finally able to discuss some sensitive topics with Ivy.

“I feel… Lorokan isn’t some kind of magic master…” Gale picked up a luxuriously bound book from the desk. The title was in eye-catching gold lettering, and Lorokan’s name shone brightly in the center of the cover.

"The Collection of Famous Monks: Lorokan?" Ivy read out the title.

“And it’s a special edition.” Gale unfolded the book’s cover, revealing a passage on the title page.

"While I appreciate your attempt to contribute to our popular book series, I'm afraid we are not currently accepting reader submissions. Furthermore, if you would like to publish this book elsewhere under a different name, I would recommend my fact-checker, Hope Cando."

“Ha.” Ivy laughed. “He really is a narcissistic guy. Is this a book published by Luo Ruokan himself?”

“The *Collection of Famous Mages* is a particularly famous biography, focusing solely on the limited group of mages. Those already published are all very famous mages, such as legendary mages like Elminster and Kelben Black Staff.” Gale flipped through the book again. “It’s full of empty self-praise; even Asdalon probably wouldn’t find it bearable. Did you notice the fact-checker the editor mentioned on the title page?”

“This is a warning.” Ivy’s smile never faded. “‘If you dare to self-publish this book in other regions, our reviewers will tell everyone in Faerûn about everything you’ve done,’ that’s roughly what it means, right?”

“It’s definitely not as humorous as you make it out to be.” Gale continued searching through a pile of letters for evidence. “Look at this. ‘Master’ Lorokan seems to be actively seeking to join other mage groups on the continent. This is a rejection letter from the Amm Cloak Mage Order.”

Amn is a trading nation located south of Baldur's Gate, a class-based aristocratic society that is prone to internal strife and self-preservation, rarely engaging in official cooperation with other cities and nations of the Sword Coast.

Furthermore, the open use of magic is illegal within Amn's territory.

Ivy had never heard of this mage group in Amn, but she figured they wouldn't amount to much; after all, mages there needed official authorization or the protection of a temple to use magic freely. To be rejected by a mage group in such a region, Lorokan was, in a sense, quite a talent.

“Moreover, I seem to have discovered his reason for urgently seeking the Song of the Night.” Gale then unfolded another notebook, the handwriting of which was severely faded and could not possibly be a manuscript completed in recent years. “It is also a method learned from the works of others. He wants to absorb the life force of the Song of the Night to prolong his own life.”

"It's not just the Mage Tower that belongs to Ramages, but even the goal of becoming a mage is borrowed?" Ivy was truly amazed today in every sense of the word. "That's interesting."

Irene and Isobel, a same-sex couple, also arrived at Baldur's Gate with the adventurers, but instead of entering the stinking underground, they waited for a summons in an enclave belonging to the followers of Serene to contribute to the fight against the conspiracy of the Three Gods of Death.

Ivy thought it was a wise choice, since Asmo's wings were still too conspicuous at Baldur's Gate.

“So my impression of Lorokan is still correct,” Gale concluded. “A cunning scoundrel who has taken up residence in Ramages’s meticulously crafted mage tower. I dare say he has peered into the vault of the four legendary books more than once, but only The Book of the Joyful Court did not harm him. Even if we were to take them all, Lorokan wouldn’t find out anytime soon.”

“I don’t doubt that, but we have too many things bothering us right now. Let’s wait until we’ve confirmed the last two books before we discuss it.” Ivy had no intention of changing the original plan. Kazador, who was about to ascend, and Orin, who was carrying out a ritual murder, were the biggest enemies threatening the adventurers. “Anyway, the Ramages Tower is in the Upper City. We can even call Eileen to confront him on the spot.”

Gale didn't object, nodding in agreement: "The Calsas Almanac, I can't wait to find out the whole truth..."

"Master Doom? Master Decarios?" Before Gale could finish speaking, Tolna's voice came from outside, "The vault is open, shall we go?"

“Kal'thus, Elminster… perhaps this is what Lorokan aspires to achieve in the future?” Before truly stepping into the core vault, Gale stared at the inscription on the door and said, “Come, let us witness the ultimate secrets of Netheril.”

Thorna thoughtfully declined to accompany her, as she knew very well that such knowledge was not something she, at her level, should be exposed to.

The Karthus Vault still has an octagonal layout, but in addition to the scroll cabinets belonging to mages, it also displays some magical weapons, including longswords, great axes, and even a Legion Demon's halberd.

Gale and Ivy, who had also noticed this, exchanged a glance. Although he didn't say it explicitly, Ivy understood what he meant: putting these rubbish pieces alongside the mysteries of Netheril, Lorokan was indeed just a lousy mage.

“Finally got the book I wanted…” Gale’s excitement was palpable as he looked at the relic belonging to the Netheril Empire in Ivy’s hands. “The knowledge and power of Netheril are all contained in this little book. Open it and take a look, and then satisfy my curiosity.”

Ivy was also very interested in that lost magical empire, but after all, Ivy had never come into contact with Netheril creations before. Unlike Gale, who had a Destruction Orb residing in his body, Ivy only had a Netherite that was originally embedded in the crown of Karthus.

“Don’t be impatient, let me see what it says—” With great interest, Ivy opened the book. “The content is extremely detailed… This is not just a log—this is Karthus’s original plan, his plan to become a god, and his design to obtain divinity.”

"A spell that transcends the existing magic system, a twelfth-circle spell—the Divine Art of Karthusden!" Ivy's exclamation fueled Gale's curiosity even more, but before he could ask any further questions, he saw Ivy frown.

"Fusing Netheril metal and Netheril magic stone to forge a crown to contain divinity—a brilliant idea..." With just a quick glance, Ivy had already noticed the strangeness in this spell. "But isn't the process of acquiring divinity a bit hasty? Obtaining the consent of the gods? Having the gods personally bestow divine power upon him?"

Ivy looked up from the Almanac of Karthus with a blank expression and looked at Gale: "If I remember correctly, Karthus was planning to replace the original goddess of magic, right?"

“That’s right.” Gale pressed his hand to his chest. “The Destruction Orb, or rather the Karthusian Web, was his first and last creation as the God of Magic.”

“Alright.” Ivy nodded. “So, is he on good terms with the Goddess of Magic? Otherwise, why would the Goddess of Magic share her divinity and power with him? According to the design of this spell, if the Goddess of Magic doesn’t agree, there’s no chance of it succeeding.”

Gale fell silent for a long while before hesitantly replying, "Perhaps we shouldn't speculate about the intentions of a god..."

“Kal'thus’s Ascension Technique is valuable, but only valuable.” Ivy closed the book and handed it to Gale. “It can’t help us defeat the Supreme God, or directly bypass the Netherstone in Orin and Gortash’s hands and control the Mind Flayer’s main brain wearing the crown.”

“But as long as we get the crown’s base, the three Nerium stones, and cast the spell that Karthus has already designed, we can recast that crown that contains divinity!” Gale excitedly turned to the page with the crown’s diagram, spreading his hands out to Ivy. “Think about it—the power of the gods is in the hands of mortals, and we can break free from doctrines and beliefs, limited only by our own imagination! You’re not a god worshipper, nor do you adore gods like that, you know they wouldn’t bestow such a blessing upon us!”

“Don’t tell me you can’t see the risks involved. Besides, that’s something we can only do after we’ve dealt with the mastermind and the voters; it won’t help the current situation at all,” Ivy said earnestly.

“You mean Mystra?” Gale shook his head. “I don’t know. Aio isn’t very friendly to gods who interfere in mortal affairs—perhaps Mystra had no choice but to stand aside and let it happen.”

"But what happens after that? If you succeed and become a god who inherits the will of Karthus..."

“This is not a boast, I think I’m a good person, even though I made a big mistake… I should be able to become a good god, right?” Gale replied with some longing.

“You don’t understand what I mean, Gale.” Ivy reached out to stop Gale’s reverie. “Mystra may indeed turn a blind eye to your blasphemy, but that doesn’t mean she will allow a newborn deity to challenge her position.”

“The mortal mage Decarios is her chosen one, while Karthus’ successor is her adversary.” Ivy patiently explained, “The goddess of magic will not personally interfere in the actions of mortals, but that does not mean that you, as a god, will not incur Her wrath.”

“There are wars even among gods. Think of Shar and Serene? We’ve seen plenty of evidence of that along the way. They are both ancient gods of Toril, so they can naturally be evenly matched. But how can a newly born god face the wrath of the goddess of magic, Mystra?” Ivy revealed the cruel side of the gods.

Gale, pale-faced, reluctantly admitted, "You're right... Ivy... After witnessing the power of the Goddess of Magic, after witnessing the danger and beauty of the magic network itself... I don't know, and I can't imagine, any god who could defeat her... Perhaps Io could... But... the Goddess of Magic is the magic network itself, the source of magic in this world... Even if defeated, she will rise from the dead... As long as all the spellcasters of Faerûn haven't disappeared—that's a fact that will definitely happen, and has already happened several times..."

The Karthusian Divine Art is good, but it's only for reference; there's no need to actually try it in Forgotten Realms.

Ivy has no intention of becoming a local deity. There are countless landscapes in the multiverse that he has not yet seen. What kind of person would he be if he tied himself to one tree and hanged himself on it so early?
(End of this chapter)