Having entered the grand library, Ivan and Yue searched throughout the bookshelves for maybe a document or something that would lead them out of this place. At first Ivan wanted to take his time and read every book but after Yue told him it'd be better to confirm whether they can really escape this place before he dumped days or maybe weeks reading he decided to join the hunt.
It wasn't until they made their way deep into the library that they found what seemed to be a blueprint displayed behind a glass cabinet on the wall. Ivan and Yue opened the cabinet before holding the blueprint in front of them.
And while it didn't seem to be a proper blueprint seeing as how it wasn't nearly as detailed, it did possess memos and a layout of the house. Luckily a memo was written stating that the magic circle residing on the third floor also doubled as a teleportation circle leading to the surface, the only thing being required was Oscar's ring, which they had graciously acquired from his corpse already.
Ivan and Yue were elated at the fact that, finally, they could return to the surface. In this whole expedition Ivan felt as though he had a newfound appreciation for the outside world, though he was sure the moment he got out he would coop himself in a lab again.
But before that there were other documents in the library that caught his eye. Such as the document that explained that the maintenance of the house was handled by a golem that resided in the workshop, And also the fake sun that hung from the ceiling held the same properties as the real sun, meaning they could grow crops here should they wish.
Ivan had half a mind to resist just living here forever. He could already imagine a field of materials for his alchemical products. Whether it be elixirs or other tools. Of course though he'd leave some room for its actual intended purpose, food.
For as simple as Ivan's taste were he was sure the taste of fish would drive him crazy should he only eat that. As such he'll make sure to raid the barn for some seeds and the like. He'd have to talk over it with Yue to see what they should grow for food, as even though his blood acted as a more efficient sustenance that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the taste of food.
"Ivan… look at this." Yue called for his attention. Turning around he saw another book held in her hands, this time it seemed to be a memo detailing Oscar and his six compatriots. It went on to mention the existence of the other six member's labyrinth but it didn't however detail the magic one would acquire from completing them.
'Six more labyrinths…' Ivan thought to himself. Though he held no intentions to involve himself with the matters of this world, attaining Ancient Magic from the Age of the Gods held a different allure. Besides, Oscar had already stated that he in no means intended for whoever conquered his dungeon to follow through with the goal of the Liberators just because they conquered a dungeon.
Oscar's only hope was that whoever attained his magic wouldn't use it for evil. But Ivan wasn't exactly sure if his selfish intention constituted 'evil.' Setting that aside the magic he had just attained was already a useful asset to himself as is, and if there really was a bunch of ancient gods playing around with the lives of this planet's inhabitants then he wanted to make sure he could defend himself.
Ivan mulled it over before making a memo to himself about the location of the known labyrinths. That being two: the Grand Gruen Volcano and the Haltina Woods. Other likely spots that they rumored to be hidden were around the Reisen Gorge and Schnee Snow Fields.
He stared at the diagram of the magic circle on the third floor, interested in its composition. If he were really to conquer the other six dungeons then he felt it likely studying the ancient magics would bring him closer to achieving Ars Magna. But to study them he'd need to first obtain them.
Ivan was stuck in a perpetual loop weighing between the advantages and disadvantages. His thinking leaned more to one side as beyond Ars Magna there was the high possibility these magics from the Age of the Gods would aid him in his original purpose.
Ivan felt a tug at his waist so he turned his head down to face Yue, he stared at her eyes full of concern before ruffling her hair. In response she only closed her eyes contently, allowing herself to be spoiled.
The two wandered a bit more in the library, their interest began to die down seeing as how they couldn't find anything pertaining to the locations of the other labyrinths. Though they didn't completely lose hope seeing as how Ivan was determined to go through all of the library's documents anyways, it would only be then that they can confirm whether there were any marked locations.
But before that there was one more important room to check out, the workshop. Yue latched onto Ivan's back as he made a beeline for the room, rather than waste energy being dragged by him she felt it was more efficient to do this.
It wasn't until they opened the first door of the workshop did they notice how strongly guarded it was. The room was separated by a multitude of other rooms and doors that were locked, making it a pain for whoever didn't have the ring to get anywhere.
Though Ivan mulled at its pointlessness seeing as how the ring worked on every single door, one would just need to take it and they would have access to everything in the base. He felt it would've been safer to have a load of other key rings or locks for each door, sure it would've been a pain to manage but at least the room full of precious blueprints and materials would be safe.
That's right, inside these rooms were crammed with all manner of ore, tools with unknown purposes, and work manuals. It was basically a researcher's wet dream. Yue only smiled wryly as she watched Ivan dart around the room like a child excited to play with their new toys.
Ivan paused his antics as he turned to Yue. She noticed the hesitation on his face as she smiled warmly
"Hey, Yue. I know you've been here in this hell for long enough. But I was wondering if you woul–" Ivan's words were cut off as Yue moved closer to him, her smile reminding him of her words when they were being debriefed by Oscar.
She held up his hands and cupped them with her own. "Ivan, my home is wherever you are."
Ivan smiled at her words, he wanted to make use of the documents and materials Oscar had graciously left to them. As such it would take some time in this environment to make sure nothing was wasted.
He still wanted to make a new offensive transmutation style and this base held all the necessities he needed. In fact the magic circle they found on the third floor and the documents he peered at briefly were already giving him ideas for its development..
Ivan lifted Yue joyously into the air before making a few spins, they laughed together as the world around turned into a blur.
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Ivan stared at the gauntlets on his hands for a bit before they disappeared in the blink of an eye. Then coursing a bit of mana through the ring on his finger they reappeared. This was an artifact known as 'Treasure Trove.' A little something Ivan found left behind in Oscar's workshop, a ring that acted as a storage space for Ivan to put his stuff in and withdraw with just his mana.
He didn't have a firm grasp on how big the space, but he assumed it was quite large if it was able to store all of the minerals and resources in the workshop. For now he'd use it to carry the resources and his other gear. As for other practical uses, well he had something cooking in the oven of his mind.
And it had to do with that little act he did now. That magic circle was something truly captivating to someone like him. Its mysteries unveiled itself one after another the more he looked at it. The formation, it's constitution and what it meant, the patterns, and finally the way it activated its energy.
It was a magic circle left hundreds or maybe even thousands of years ago and yet it functioned as intended. Doubling as a message to the living and a teleportation circle to the surface. He had seen other circles with almost the same complexity if not greater in some of Oscar's documents but it would seem Oscar never intended for anyone else to see them as it was never explained in the writing.
The difference between those circles and the one before him was that this one he could analyze in person. Though he didn't go far enough to disturb its groove as he didn't want to accidentally break it and strand himself and Yue down here.
But even with such an accurate analysis of the circle he was unable to replicate its effects, he possessed neither the affinity or skills to do so after all. However, though he was unable to replicate the circle's effects it brought huge inspiration to a newly formed alchemical circle.
Though the mana in the air was drastically low compared to how he believed it to be in the Age of the Gods, it was this magic circle that stayed active this long just by drawing in the already thin mana. Sure, Oscar could have used mana crystals to power the magic circle upon someone stepping on it; however it seemed that that mana crystals were imbued as grounded dust to form the circle rather than power it.
The trigger to this loaded gun wasn't someone stepping into the room, but the fact that the person that contacted the circle had mana in them already. And that made him think, if it was possible for him to inscribe alchemical circles into his gauntlets to display its effects than what stopped him from doing the same to arms and hands., and potentially, his body.
'Engrave' the alchemical circle into his arms and hands, and become the conduit to his own alchemy. Ivan felt his current weakness was against long ranged attacks, more specifically magic attacks. Yes he could break off the magic attacks and defend himself by transmuting his own defense but a spell fast and strong enough would just tear it all down.
Such as how in his battle against Yue the moment she dropped lighting on him his palms couldn't reach the ground before it struck, he simply couldn't outpace thunder.
So what if he imbued a special power into one of his arms, and another into his other hand. A hand imbued with the insignia to destroy everything and the other to create. He would simply need to touch a spell to erase it from the world, though it wouldn't be true erasure as it would simply be reducing it back to its set of parts.
And if he touched the disassembled spell with his arm to create then it'd be possible to reform it for his own uses.
Now for the first thing he'd be doing is drawing the transmutation circle for its intended functions. It needs to be able to draw mana from the air, absorb it into his arm, and release the moment he outputs his mana. The first hand he'd be testing on would be his right, making it the arm of destruction.
To make sure it'd only activate when he wanted to rather than when it detected mana, he added on another assortment of patterns to serve that purpose. In a sense its design was composed of a multitude of patterns working together to serve a function.
And when he was satisfied with the result, he showed it to Yue.
"Ivan… this is amazing." She looked at the diagram of the tattoo before listening to Ivan's explanation of it. However, there was one problem she had with his idea.
"I don't like the idea of you being covered in tattoos." Like a mother afraid of her child going through a rebellious phase, Yue spoke concernedly.
Ivan only smiled wryly at her concerns before going into the workshop. Now that he was done with the design he'd move on to the next part. Unfortunately normal o' ink wouldn't do the trick if he wanted the tattoo to imbue itself with mana. As such he would follow in the example of Oscar, that being grinding up mana crystals into dust and turning that dust into paint.
It was a meticulous and arduous process but after seven attempts he got what he was aiming for. A bowl of thick black paint sat on his desk as he observed it quietly, nodding a bit to himself as small sparks arose from when he hovered his pinky over it.
This leaves the final step, applying it to himself. It was possible for him to copy the design onto himself but he was a bit worried about messing up, as the lines and patterns had to be exactly perfect if he wanted it to work as intended.
He cleared off the table before calling Yue into the room.
"Hey Yue, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing the tattoo for me. I was gonna do it myself but I got a bit scared. Hahaha!" He rubbed his head abashedly as he looked at her stoic expression.
"....." Her expression remained the same as her eyes were telling a different story.
Ivan sighed aloud before acquiescing with her demand. "Fine, you can have as much blood as you want during dinner. Deal?"
She nodded her head smugly before patting the table, hurrying Ivan to lay down.
It wasn't until he laid on the table that a couple things came to mind. Things like hoping if the vampire queen was good at calligraphy. Or hoping she'd be able to do this for hours at a time, though that worry was a bit minor to him seeing as how she seemed to hold a high tolerance for patience.
Otherwise she would have lost her mind being locked up in the dungeon for three hundred years.
Ivan closed his eyes, and drifted away in his sleep. Listening to the strokes of her brush, and their soft breathing.
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A new power!? Maaaa~ its basically another melee skill. I didn't really wanna take away Yue's strengths so instead Ivan has become her counter. Oh and if you didn't know Scar is really cool. I think the destructive property of his brother's arm is quite useful in this world. By the way I also got some inspiration from Gildarts' Crush Magic (Fairy Tail)
But hey thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the development. See you all again next time and may you better have a great day/night!
If you want to support me and read ahead 10-15 chapters, you can check out my p.a.t.r.e.o.n right here: https://bit.ly/ardoaleister
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