The network of alleys, like a maze, connected Tobesk Lower Town with the fringes of the University District. Walking along the alley and turning the corner, one could see a steam pipe, for some reason severed, leaking water outward.
For the safety of his boots, he circled around the puddle. He then continued forward and soon spotted a rusted metal staircase clinging to the dark yellow outer wall.
Thumping up the metal staircase to the second floor, it felt as if the entire staircase was shaking.
After knocking, he said to the inside,
"I was referred by Cuckoo, she mentioned there was a problem with the quality of the last book."
"She always says there's a problem with our books, that woman is too picky,"
came a muffled voice from inside. After opening the door, a man with bare arms tattooed with an anchor led Shard down the hallway. Holding his breath behind him, Shard noticed the man had a strong body odor.
"Do you know the rules?"
"I don't; I've just arrived in Tobesk from out of town,"
Shard replied in a stifled voice.
"So what do you want to do? Buy books at the library, or consign books?"
he said, muffled, since he was holding his breath, but luckily, since he wore a mask, the strange voice probably went unnoticed.
The corridor's floor was peeling up in many places due to dampness, making squeaky noises as they walked. All the doors along the corridor were closed; it was unclear whether they were occupied.
The man led Shard up the corridor and turned left, directing him into a small room temporarily unoccupied to wait.
The room was unusually dim, windowless, filled with an aroma of...canned fish, which Mia might enjoy. The space was smaller than the bathing area of the washroom at No. 6, Saint Delan Square, and contained only a sofa. Across from the sofa, the wall had a small square hole that was covered by a wooden board.
On one side of the hole on the wall hung a rusted black iron gas lamp. The man leading the way lit the lamp, letting the dim yellow light faintly brighten the room before he closed the door and left.
Shard sat on the comparatively clean sofa and waited for a while, staring at an oil painting of an upside-down man on the wall. The straight gas lamp pipe traveled around this painting before connecting to the lamp. Shard pondered why they didn't just raise the gas pipeline to avoid having to route it at right angles.
Suddenly, the wooden board was slid open, startling Shard.
From behind the barrier, an impatient male voice asked,
"What do you want to buy? Do you have a specific book title, or just a general request?"
The man had a distinct Tobesk accent, and from his voice, he was probably only in his thirties. But the light was too dim to illuminate the space behind the board. As the board opened, the smell of canned fish grew stronger, evidently, the speaker was eating something earlier.
"About the 'Gluttony' Arcane Technique."
Shard simply said, faking a non-local accent, which was easy since he indeed wasn't a local.
"'Gluttony'? Hold on."
The man then fell silent, the only sound being the continual turning of pages from the back of the hole.
"Gluttony" was not a rare Spirit Rune either and was actually quite common. However, the common "Gluttony" runes were mostly Enlightenment or Whisper Runes, especially the Black Iron Whisper "Gluttony". By reading stories of the extinct Cannibal Tribes of the Fourth Era, one had a high chance of obtaining it. In contrast, the silver Desecration "Gluttony" rune related to the Evil God was rarely seen.
"Yes, what price range are you looking for?"
It took at least ten minutes before the man's voice responded. Shard knew there was no bargaining here, so he didn't hide his intentions:
"Around fifteen pounds will do; not more than twenty pounds."
This was the answer he gave after considering his financial situation.
The man did not reply but instead wrote swiftly behind the partition, likely using a fountain pen. Yet what he placed at the opening on the wall was a note and a pencil. When trading items here, the names of the items were not spoken aloud to prevent any leakage of information about the items.
The note was sloppily written with two Arcane Techniques, presumably because Shard's offered price was too low.
The two Arcane Techniques were listed as "Parkinson's Gluttonous Desire" and "Satiety Food".
From the naming style of the former, one could tell it was an Arcane Technique recently developed, likely propagated from the Three Great Magics Academies. Its effect was to inflict a "Gluttony" state on a target, causing them to have an overwhelming desire to eat for a certain period.
For ordinary people, this might lead to their death by overeating, whereas for Circle Sorcerers, the effect varied depending on the difference in levels among several other factors.
This was an Arcane Technique consigned to the Black Raven Library. The seller set the price at 14 pounds and 3 shillings and did not provide materials for learning the technique. Learning requirements included having "Gluttony" and related Spirit Runes, which had to be of the Enlightenment or Whisper type.
Shard, even if he bought it, would not be able to learn it.
"Satiety Food" was an Arcane Technique that could only affect oneself and had a relatively more complicated effect. The user needed to set a target food item they could consume after using the Arcane Technique, and every ten minutes, they had to eat the food four times continuously, with each consumption more than the last. It was necessary to reach a state of fullness after the final consumption.
Once the four consumptions were complete and the "Satiety Food" effect was fulfilled, the chosen target food could be turned into a foodstuff that could satisfy one's fullness with just one bite. It satisfied not only the psychological but also the physiological need to eat.
More importantly, the target food consumed under "Satiety Food" had a healing effect, but regardless of the effect, it only worked on the user of the Arcane Technique.
If one wished to change the target food, it would require at least one complete lunar cycle.
This Arcane Technique was also consigned in the library. Since the created food only affected the creator and the effects were not very pronounced, the price was very low, only 9 pounds and 7 shillings. However, if the buyer wanted the learning materials, they needed to pay 11 pounds in full.
Learning this Arcane Technique could only involve Desecration-type silver Spirit Runes related to "Food", which Shard happened to possess.
"But is learning this Arcane Technique useful to me?"
He asked himself, then decided it was very useful. It could not only save him money for food, but also in case of injury during the day, he wouldn't have to rely on "False Immortality" to endure the pain.
More importantly, even though the effects leaned towards mental healing at night with the Arcane Technique "Cyndia's Silvermoon Blessing," "Satiety Food" could slightly compensate for this shortfall, though sadly, the healing effect of this technique was not very pronounced.
"This may not necessarily be the case."
A murmuring voice arose at the bottom of his heart.
Shard asked inwardly, though outwardly, he still portrayed a hesitating and thoughtful demeanor.
"Your Gluttony does not originate from the residual power of touching an Evil God, but rather seemingly from devouring part of a Deity's power. This Spirit Rune, unlike normal Desecration Runes, is very powerful. Furthermore, compounded with the Divine Afterglow State, the Arcane Technique you learn from it might be very powerful."
Shard also felt the uniqueness of "Gluttony", as whenever he summoned the Ring of Fate, "Gluttony" would flash with a silver Spiritual Light, a manifestation typical of a normal Spirit Rune taking effect.