Kane didn't dare linger any longer. As soon as the door opened, he rushed out with his tail between his legs. He only relaxed when he heard the sound of the door closing behind him. Heaving a sigh of relief, Kane turned to see the maid looking at him with a complex expression.
"What's wrong?"
he asked. The maid shook her head.
"...It's nothing. I'll take you to get your meditation technique."
Sensing the maid's complex feelings were somehow related to his test results, Kane chose to stay quiet about this subject. He could always find the meaning of level five talent later on. As such, he instead asked what he was most curious about.
"What in the world was that thing in there!?"
The maid sighed.
"That was Magus Carter. He's human, just like you and me. Or at least he was at one time."
Kane picked up the hint and asked,
"So what happened to him?"
"...Magus Carter was a true light magus. He was pure and kind, and he never exploited the people. But, one day, one of his experiments required a human test subject. Master Darius tried to gift him some criminals as an exception, but Carter refused to listen."
"Then what happened?"
Although he asked, Kane already had some idea of what she would say.
"Carter used himself as the subject. But, unfortunately, the experiment failed, turning him into an unimaginable monster. He tried to turn himself back, but his condition became worse with each passing day. Eventually, his condition progressed so far that he was no longer capable of researching the cure for himself."
Kane shivered. He couldn't possibly understand the sheer amount of terror and hopelessness he would experience in that situation. Trapped in a body that became increasingly less habitable as he raced to find a cure. The maid continued.
"Finally, on account of their previous friendship, master Darius took in Carter as his test taker, giving him the darkroom so that no one would be able to gaze upon his twisted form. In exchange, Darius promised Carter that he would find the cure."
Hearing this conclusion, Kane didn't even speak. He was well aware that Darius had no intention to find a cure for Carter. This world was ruthless. If he was to survive in this world, he couldn't fail even once. In silence, they walked through the winding hallways and stairways until they reached a large underground chamber. Inside of this chamber was a huge set of wooden double doors.
Although Kane was from a modern civilization, having seen countless architectural wonders, this door was still astounding. Staring at the door that appeared to be almost five stories tall, he wondered how anyone even managed to get it open.
Despite his obvious surprise, the maid didn't pause, heading straight for the door in a brisk walk. Almost jogging to keep up, Kane followed until they came up to a desk directly in front of the door. He was surprised to see that the man sitting at the desk was a surprisingly normal-looking old man in a magus's robe.
"Ah, I was told you would come."
The old man said, facing Kane. Then, turning toward the maid, he spoke with respect.
"And lady Violet, I see you've yet to grow tired of your old tricks."
"Aww, you're no fun!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Kane quickly looked toward the maid, only to see the remains of a slowly disappearing illusion. Inside of which stood a beautiful little girl. Seeing this, Kane's eyes widened.
"Wait, you were the maid the whole time?"
Violet shook her tiny finger at Kane.
"Not the whole time. I cast the illusion while you were walking into my room. After that, it was only child's play for the maid and me to switch places."
"But-"
Suddenly a cold wind swept across Kane, silencing him.
"Enough of the chit-chat. Hurry and choose your meditation technique so I can go back to sleepi- guarding! I meant guarding."
The magus waved his hand, and a smaller door opened from within the larger one. When he tried to look where it led, all he could see was a shivering yellow film across the passageway.
"This is the smallest door. It will lead you to all of the acolyte-level meditation techniques. Choose wisely, or else you could end up suffering from a bad foundation."
Despite the grand display, Kane couldn't help but glance at Violet. Why start the illusion spell in her room? Why didn't they switch while Kane was in the test? Although the trick still worked, he couldn't help seeing Violet as a little clumsy. Perhaps she wasn't as bad as he thought. Hiding his smile, Kane breathed in and walked forward. Violet tried to follow behind, but the old man stopped her.
"I'm sorry, Miss Violet, but even you are not allowed to enter here without permission."
"Ah, come on! I'll be the master of the family soon anyways; why can't I go in too?"
The old man shook his head, and Violet had no choice but to watch as Kane passed through the door.
"Whoa!"
Kane couldn't help but gasp as he walked through the passage. In front of him was a small library. The kind that you might find in a manor. However, this library glowed with a magical light that instinctively gave Kane a sense of grandeur.
In the center of the room were three ancient-looking books, each protected by their own individual formations. Surrounding these books were several small bookshelves, housing around 500 books in total.
Kane couldn't help but walk up to the three books in the middle and read their introductions.
[Incomplete Low-grade Mid-tier Meditation Technique: Drake's Breath]
[A fire-type meditation technique, suitable for dragon and snake-type warlocks. This technique can be used from acolyte level 0 -> Magus Level 1]
-
[Incomplete Low-grade Mid-tier Meditation Technique: Steel Fist]
[A rare metal-type meditation technique, suitable for traditional magi. This technique can be used from acolyte level 0 -> Magus Level 1]
-
[Incomplete Upper-tier Meditation Technique: Titan's Roar]
[A bloodline-type meditation technique, suitable only for warlocks of the Titan bloodline. Once you start using this meditation technique, you can no longer change. This technique can be used from acolyte level 0 -> Magus Level 4]
Seeing the details of the techniques, Kane was sure he knew why Darius was insistent on turning the Titan warlock body into a slave. Despite the limitations, if Kane chose this technique, he could have a chance at becoming a level 4 magus.
Even so, Kane suspected that Darius had planted this technique within the acolyte-level books. Given the circumstances, his hand was forced. Right when he was about to choose [Titans Roar], a message appeared in his head.
[Meditation tomes detected: Activating, Dimensional City Library!]