Mercenary Wars

Chapter 236 Boosting Playtime

night.

Gao Jiano and Dalis discussed club matters privately.

"Boss, do you think that 'Tracing Society' is really secretly researching necromancy?" Darius asked.

Gao Jiano sat in his chair and pondered for a moment: "Bones was indeed ordered to stop by the church because it involved necromancy. A makeup artist from the Bainao Opera House talked to me about this... If the purpose of the Search Society is to commemorate Bones, it is not surprising that they would also exchange some necromancy knowledge."

Daryls: "Should we ask around?"

As an undead, she has a natural affinity for necromancy.

Gaucano was also very interested in necromancy.

After all, in his view, most of the so-called "black magic" of the church was not actually that evil, or at least not that evil.

Not only is it not evil, but it is also very valuable and should not be missed.

For example, "talking to the dead" and "spiritual vision" are quite practical and worth learning spells. Given that most people don't know them, their value is even more prominent.

In addition, Gaucano also possessed a level-nine skeleton of unknown origin. The level of the skeleton and the artifacts it carried suggested that the person was of extraordinary status in life.

He longed to discover the origin of the skeleton through ingenious magic, just like in the opera "Bones".

Therefore, he immediately nodded: "Of course we should inquire. If the Tracking Society is indeed the 'Necronomicon School' and suitable, we might as well try joining them."

He suddenly remembered something and changed the subject: "By the way, do you have any leads on your father?"

“No.” Darius shook her head with a somewhat somber expression. “The teacher who taught us ‘Elementary Spacetime Magic’ was the same age as my father and was a local of Ax City. I asked him about some things from back then, but he and my father didn’t seem to have any connection.”

Gaucano: "Perhaps we can try to find out the information of freshmen or graduates from those years."

Daryls paused briefly: "Although my father has told me a lot about Ax Magic Academy, I'm not sure if he's a student there. Besides... this kind of information is probably not easy to find out."

Gao Jiano pondered for a moment: "If your father were a student at Ax Magic Academy, do you think he would be listed as a 'missing student'?"

Daryls thought for a moment: "Possibly."

Then she suddenly realized something and couldn't help but exclaim softly, "The Tracking Society!"

Gao Jiano nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking. The Tracking Society might have information on this, after all, one of their main activities is finding missing persons, not only missing students, but also missing citizens."

Darliss took a deep breath: "It seems that joining the Tracking Society is not only worth a try, but also quite necessary!"

Later that evening, Daryls returned to her room.

Gaucano sat alone at his desk and picked up a book—one he had borrowed from the Orsini Library.

He opened the book, his fingers feeling the texture of the paper and the magic it contained.

[Page 25]

[Reading time: 00:00]

[Reading time: 00:01]

[Reading time: 00:02]

……

The pages remain open, and the panel indicates that the rule magic is accumulating reading time.

When the accumulated time reaches one hundred seconds, the number will stop increasing, which clearly means that the effective reading of this page has been achieved.

It takes one hundred seconds to read one page.

A book needs to be read at least two-thirds of its pages to be considered a valid borrowing.

This book has a total of over 400 pages, with two-thirds of it being approximately 300 pages. This means it would take about ten hours to successfully borrow the book once.

Moreover, you need to turn the page frequently during these ten hours, otherwise it will take even longer.

The efficiency is too low!
Without a doubt, with such low efficiency, "brushing" is meaningless.

It's better to watch it properly once, at least then you won't waste your time.

After several failed attempts to boost his reading data, Gao Jiano did indeed have a real and ambitious reading plan, fantasizing about diligently reading five hundred books.

But as the saying goes, "If you have not seen the light, you can endure the darkness," if Gao Jiano hadn't known about the data manipulation, he might have just read books naturally, neither wasting his time nor gaining professor-level borrowing privileges, and he might not have even considered such a thing.

But having already read the "Ax Magic Academy Survival Manual," he knew that many students had obtained professor-level borrowing privileges by boosting their data, which inevitably made him somewhat restless.

So after a period of careful reading, Gao Jiano began to consider ways to manipulate the data again.

His fingers moved between the pages, slowly turning them.

Or, to put it another way, "move the pages".

With his slightest movement, the pages of the book gradually opened at a snail's pace.

At the same time, he kept a close eye on the prompts on the panel.

Gao Jiano believed that if any freshman could crack the new borrowing rules, it would most likely be himself.

After all, he has a control panel that allows him to see all sorts of detailed information that most people can't.

For ordinary students, the new borrowing rules are still a mystery, but Gao Jiano at least knows the specifics of the rules.

The remaining question is how to crack the rules.

When the book was first turned, the timekeeping remained unchanged.

Time only begins to accumulate when the two pages are perpendicular to each other, as if some hidden switch has been triggered.

Ninety degrees.

The angle between the two pages must be greater than or equal to 90 degrees to trigger the timer.

Is there any way to reduce the required angle?

After a moment's thought, Gao Jiano first placed his hand between the two pages to see if it would affect the timing.

It has no effect whatsoever.

So he took out the Summoner's Blade from his storage ring—to test the magical item again. The gleaming blade shimmered under the light, exuding the unique texture of mithril. He held the Summoner's Blade between two pages, adjusted the angle, and examined the information.

The good news was that things had changed; the required angle had been significantly reduced due to the influence of the mithril-material Summoner's Blade. This discovery cheered him up, making him feel like he had found the right direction.

The bad news is that the reduction is not significant, only decreasing from ninety degrees to the eighties. This minor change is negligible for his ultimate goal and does not change anything.

Gaucano pondered for a long time.

As the night deepened and all was quiet, the stillness seemed to sharpen his mind. The night breeze outside the window gently caressed the windowpanes, making a soft rustling sound, as if providing rhythm for his thoughts.

He stared intently at the pages, turning them occasionally.

Undoubtedly, there is a magical connection between the two adjacent pages, and the timer starts when the angle between them is greater than or equal to ninety degrees. It is not hard to imagine that the condition for starting the timer is likely that this magical connection has faded to a certain extent.

Following this line of thought, if we could sever this magical connection, we might be able to forcibly start the timer.

But he had already tried, and the mithril-made Summoner's Blade was not enough to sever this connection, far from enough. What else could achieve this? He began searching his memory for any potentially useful items.

Gao Jiano took out several items and placed them between the pages of the book to observe their effects.

Gold, no way.

Bones won't do.

Glass won't do.

The Desert Bottle... Sure!
Gaucano was surprised to find that when the Desert Bottle was sandwiched between the pages of the book, the required angle was reduced to almost half!
He immediately guessed the reason—the effect of spatial magic—and promptly tucked many storage rings into the book.

With the addition of storage rings, the required angle is further reduced.

In fact, the book is now almost completely closed, but the time is still accumulating.

So, after a hundred seconds, Gao Jiano successfully got a free page!
This made him slightly agitated, but he quickly regained his composure.

In theory, he has cracked the rules, but it doesn't make much sense.

After all, refreshing a page requires refilling the Desert Bottle and Storage Ring, which is troublesome and doesn't save much time, making it not cost-effective at all.

What he wanted was an auto-reading experience, where he could quickly accumulate reading time with just a few simple actions, without needing continuous active intervention.

With such expectations, Gao Gano then made a lot of attempts, using various items in turn, but the results were not ideal, even worse than storage rings and desert bottles.

He tried almost every material and combination he could think of, but the results were all disappointing.

Just when he was about to give up, a sudden inspiration flashed in his mind.

Perhaps we could try... another book?

Gaucano immediately grabbed another book he had borrowed from the Orsini Library, and the two books overlapped by a page. He was already prepared for disappointment; after all, the idea was so simple, and he didn't believe it would work.

However, the truth is sometimes quite dramatic.

[Reading time: 00:00]

[Reading time: 00:01]

It really happened?!

Upon seeing the notification on the panel, Gao Jiano was first taken aback, then overjoyed!

It turns out that the best tool to sever the magical connection within a book is another book! The answer is so simple, yet upon reflection, it makes perfect sense!
It takes no effort at all!

Gaucano continued to overlap the two books, his movements becoming skillful and confident, as if he had found the key to unlock the treasure.

At first, he did it manually, but later he used a Swift Breeze to blow the pages of the two books open and then close them.

Hundreds of timers start simultaneously!
One hundred seconds later, both books were finished!
continue!

Gao Jiano persevered and finished reading all the borrowed books in just over ten minutes!

At this rate, it wouldn't take a few years, or even a few months, but at most a few weeks, for him to collect 500 books and obtain professor-level borrowing privileges! What was once a distant goal suddenly became within reach.

If he wanted, he could even finish it in a whole day by working on it. But that would be too conspicuous; borrowing and returning 500 books in one day would be suspicious to the librarian, and no one would dare to do that under the old rules.

To be on the safe side, Gao Jiano decided to take about a month to finish the course.

The reason it was set for one month was because his turn to book in the Golden Plains would come in a month later, at which point he could go to the Golden Plains to conduct simulated alchemy, using the knowledge he gained from the professor-level books.

Simulated alchemy is the primary purpose of the Golden Plains Secret Realm.

The pleasant weekend flew by.

Upon returning to the academy, dozens of clubs had already set up booths to recruit new members. The large lawn in front of St. Grosset's lecture hall was bustling with activity, with various slogans created by magic such as the Dance of Light floating in the air, creating a festive atmosphere.

Nominally, Ax Magic Academy has dozens of clubs, but most of them are so loosely organized that they are almost invisible. They are often formed by the whims of a few past students, and they continue to exist only because there is no need to abolish them. The few days of recruitment are their only active period of the year.

Only a small number of clubs are truly active in the long term.

For example, there's the "Saints' Choir," which centers on theology and faith. While not the largest or strongest society, it's consistently placed first on the list for various occasions due to well-known reasons. During important ceremonies within the college, they are always brought to the forefront, showcasing the college's piety to the church and the world through hymns and other activities. In return, the college naturally bestows many privileges upon the Saints' Choir.

For example, groups like the "Elemental Emergency Team," "Magic Rune Medical Team," and "Low-Cost Alchemy Society," which are characterized by their public welfare focus, are highly praised in Axel City, especially in the Lower City. They emphasize mutual benefit, helping those in need while also ensuring that their members gain something, thus fostering strong cohesion.

There's also the Clock Club, known for its high entry requirements and difficulty, a club specializing in time and space magic that gathers the smartest and most arrogant group of people at Ax Magic Academy; the Exploration Club, which works closely with the Adventurers' Guild, with its booth filled with all sorts of rare treasures and adventure equipment, attracting young people who crave excitement and wealth; the Elf Club, where people cosplay various elves every day; the Opera Club, where people sing and cosplay at the same time; the Mage Melee Club, where people practice swordsmanship; the Magical Food Club, where everyone is determined to lose weight... and the low-key but mysterious Tracking Club.

As planned, Gaucano decided to join the Elemental Emergency Team and the Exploration Club.

Darliss decided to join the Magical Gourmet Club and the Tracking Club.

Of the four groups, the Elemental Emergency Response Team is the easiest to join.

As long as you master one or two spells that can be used for disaster relief, you can join the elemental emergency response team. This requirement is not high for most students.

It would be much easier for Gaucano to join the elemental emergency team.

In fact, he didn't even demonstrate anything; he simply stated his name, which immediately attracted the attention of the club.

"Gaucano?" The member of the elemental emergency response team in charge of registering the names on the roster was taken aback, then said, "Gaucano who possesses the blessings of both wind and earth elements?"

"Yes." Gao Jiano smiled, slightly embarrassed but still polite, not expecting that he already had a certain degree of fame among the students.

"Welcome to the Elemental Emergency Response Team!" The other party extended his hand warmly and said, "I am Oscar Borgia, the deputy leader of the Elemental Emergency Response Team and a member of the Water and Soil Branch School."

(End of this chapter)