There were some questions that could only be answered if Merrick took a break from the dungeon and explored the rest of the game world. The parts that he had been exposed to operated like a perfectly written machine. The code behind the game must have been phenomenally crafted. The intelligences behind the NPCs that he had run into so far had been extreme. Especially that draconic prisoner that had shooed him away for fear of being lumped in with him.
Merrick's hand fell to the dagger sheathed at his side. The dagger that he had left at the Library. The dagger that had mysteriously appeared back on his person right as he needed it. It was one of the questions that he wanted to answer before pressing further into the dungeon.
As soon as he made it out of the storage area that hid the dungeon's entrance, though, Merrick realized what the system notification had meant when returning would be a risk. The common area between the storage and Library had been cleared of tables. The cells had all been sealed off and a golem operator was patrolling the area with a sentry golem hovering overhead.
Merrick wasted no time summoning Crudle. The Pure Earth Elemental's empowerment did not physically change the Dust Mephit but as soon as Merrick's companion came into being, he could tell the difference. Crudle was given a simple command: take out the sentry golem.
A giant spike of rock shot upward from ground behind the golem operator and pierced the sentry golem clean through. The sudden eruption of earth knocked the golem operator to the ground as well. Before he could recover Merrick sprinted forward and gave the guard his best kick to the head.
Even as a Mage, a swift kick against a downed opponent did enough damage to knock the guard unconscious. A quick search turned up nothing but despair. Again the wand, the random-effect magic item that all golem operators carried, was broken. This break happened because the golem operator tried to draw it as he fell and it snapped awkwardly halfway out of its holster.
There was no reason to clean up after the encounter and try to be stealthy. Crudle had created a slanted stalagmite. Merrick resigned to hope that any guards that came through would be unsure of what happened and go look for him somewhere else. After all, the Library was his base of operations, he figured he would be safe there.
Across the common area, Merrick slipped into the Library and immediately confirmed what he already knew. The dagger that he had placed on the shelf was gone. It had been sent back to him by the game or he had summoned it somehow. Either way, there was not another mysterious dagger, just the same mysterious dagger as before.
Merrick quickly moved to the bookshelves and started searching for anything he could find about Magic. As if the system understood his intention, a notification popped up.
--SYSTEM NOTIFICATION--
You are unable to learn any more from this library until after you have reflected on your research. To reflect on research, take up a sitting position at any table or desk with a blank page in front of you.
--Reflection Unlocked--
Merrick closed the notification and turned his back on the bookshelves. Instead he moved to the nearest table and opened up his Mage's Journal to the first blank page. He felt like he had a considerable portion when he copied the map of the prison down, but now it seemed that the journal had more pages than before.
Once the journal was open to a blank page, a small system window popped open above the page: --Would you like to reflect on your research? YES // NO --
Merrick selected YES and his vision blurred for a moment. For the first time, he felt like he was truly inside a game as his avatar lagged out ahead of him and pixelated time seemed to skip forward. The seemingly buggy effect only lasted for a few seconds but when it wrapped up, the blank page was covered with notes about something called Psychometry.
--SYSTEM NOTIFICATION--
Through your constant studies of the arcane arts without specializing in any area, you have gained the ability to look into the past of an object. This is a skill sought after by Diviners, Wizards, and Zealots.
--Psychometry Unlocked--
Merrick picked up a nearby book. He could feel the difference already. It felt like a new dimension or sense had been added. All he needed to do was close his eyes while focusing on the book and suddenly a scene played out before him. Light and color flashed by quickly at first, but he grew accustomed to the change of pace.
He was viewing the history of the book in reverse. With a thought, the video playing in his head slowed to a pause and then proceeded forward slowly. A librarian was picking the book up from the shelf and setting it on a pile on the table. Then the librarian walked out of the room quickly. Merrick hurried forward in the book's history until he saw his own avatar walk into the library, muck around for a few minutes, and then sort the books back onto the shelf.
The books themselves were code in a game, but they had been created by the code in the game. Looking back, Merrick was able to follow the book's history until it dissolved into raw ingredients growing in a small field in the middle of a forest.
As interesting as the book's history was, Merrick was more interested in the dagger. However, his powers only let him look as far back as when he removed it from the hidden cache back in his cell. Unlike the book, the dagger had been created for him it seemed. Either that or something was blocking his ability to look back further.
Psychometry would probably be a helpful skill in the future, but for now, Merrick resolved to old fashioned research. The system notification that blocked him from researching on the bookshelves had vanished and within a few moments of looking, Merrick found a book about runes and another book about legendary artifacts.
The book of runes unlocked a new entry in his Knowledge Archive, but much like with Thaumaturgy, a system notification let him know that he would need to clear the dungeon and find a neutral library to get more information.
The book of legendary artifacts, on the other hand, answered his questions fully. On the forty-first page, Merrick found an entry for a dagger called Spell Stealer. It was created by the Great Wizard Abernathy nearly a hundred years ago for a Spymaster looking to kill a Lich without finding it's phylactery. The dagger was capable of capturing both spells and raw elemental energy. It was also able to release whatever it captured in the form of raw arcane energy or to empower a spell.
Merrick was mostly through the page when a loud crackle of energy shook the Library. An orb of light started to float above the shrine that Merrick had previously written off. Voices started to pour outward from the orb.
There were four voices in total, Merrick could tell that immediately because they were arguing about something. What they were saying, however, he could not pick out from the table because they were talking so quickly over each other. As he moved toward the shrine, he picked out names: Rat, Molly, and Alex.
Just as he got close enough to hear clearly, he could even see images inside the ball of light. Then the fourth voice rang clearly, "Someone else is here. I'm shutting down the network."
The owner of the fourth voice waited for no confirmations, instead there was another crackle of energy and this time the orb of light exploded. Merrick barely had enough time to raise his arms before the blast threw him backward.