Chapter 19: The Nether Scroll

Borne had no idea that, because of an article he submitted, undercurrents were stirring in Sevinton. The Earl, belatedly realizing the situation after seeing Borne’s submission, was utterly baffled. Soon after, he received a 'cordial' greeting from the Dean, and the funding resources that normally took ages to be approved were promptly dispatched. Even the permissions for the Tower Spirit had been increased by ten percent.

Staring at the newly replenished materials vault, the Earl felt, for the first time, that the abundance was almost overwhelming—he began to wonder if the decision to send Borne to the academy ahead of time had been too hasty.

How long had it been, and already such chaos had erupted.

Meanwhile, Borne gave it little thought. With the compensation credits, he could finally exchange for a few spells. At present, he was like a 'miniature' Gandalf, able only to conjure light, and when faced with an enemy, he had to roll up his sleeves and fight.

Upon entering the third floor of the Mage Tower once more, Borne noticed the atmosphere was unusually lively today. The Tower housed the 'Tower Spirit,' essentially a terminal; unless you were like Borne, unsure what to look for and browsing at random, most people relied on the Tower Spirit to search for the materials they needed. They seldom lingered in the stacks, especially near the entrance.

Today was different. There were quite a few people, and Borne sensed immediately that his arrival drew many eyes. These observers were clearly untrained.

Their attempts at concealment were laughably poor.

Clutching books that obviously didn’t belong here, they pretended to read with exaggerated seriousness. At least the commoner students had the decency to keep up the act. The nobles in the distance, however, didn’t bother to hide their intentions at all—gathered in small groups, heads lowered in fake conversation, sneaking glances at Borne now and then. It left him speechless.

Were they spying, or searching for someone?

Annoyed but not interested in confrontation, Borne strode to the spell section and spent a credit to have the Tower Spirit conceal him.

As Borne’s figure vanished from sight, those watching him exchanged surprised looks.

“Eh? Is that a new teacher? Looks unfamiliar.”

“I don’t think so. Did you see his robe? It’s gray…”

“Couldn’t see his face, but judging by his bearing, he’s probably not a commoner…”

“Or maybe a senior student?”

“Unlikely. I know almost every teacher and instructor retained by the academy, and I’ve never seen him. Even without seeing his face, his build and height don’t match any I know.”

The lead noble glanced sideways, his pupils contracting as he said quietly, “Shut up! Let’s go…”

He marched out quickly, the others exchanging confused glances before following.

Once outside the Mage Tower, the leading noble looked back, his expression grim.

“So it’s him—a freshman!”

“A freshman? How can a freshman use invisibility magic in the Mage Tower?”

“Idiot, didn’t you notice there was no magic fluctuation? That was the Tower Spirit hiding him. If not for the odd floor shadows, we wouldn’t have realized he was standing right beside us, eavesdropping!”

“The Tower Spirit? Damn, how many credits does that take?”

“Anyone submitting articles now has to use his template—do you think he’d lack credits?”

After the spies departed, Borne’s figure reappeared, and he winced at the expense.

The Tower Spirit’s invisibility had a time limit, and renewing it cost credits. Just standing next to them for a few minutes had cost him over ten points—enough to exchange for a level-one spell.

Not only was it expensive, he’d still been discovered. He’d rate the service poorly.

Where was the complaint button?

Unsure how intelligent the Tower Spirit truly was, Borne could only grumble to himself.

Though he hadn’t learned much, the snippets overheard suggested they were searching for the article’s author.

“Wait! Isn’t this basically admitting it?” Borne realized, belatedly. How could a freshman have so many credits unless he was the one who submitted the article? He’d laughed at others, but the joke was really on him.

Ever since he’d discovered he’d crossed over to the world of Toril, Borne had tried to be cautious. Yet, mere weeks into the semester, his identity was exposed.

Spotted before he’d even left the 'beginner’s village,' and even a pen name couldn’t hide him. He was the perfect cannon fodder archetype…

If even cannon fodder characters were this sharp, his prospects were bleak.

Borne sighed softly. It was simply too hard.

His newly earned credits had already drawn attention—money truly moved hearts!

Though he hadn’t been at the academy long, Borne understood that credits were true currency here. Commoners exchanged credits for gold, but nobles only wanted credits, since the Tower Spirit accepted nothing else.

Magic plants, lab access, spellbooks—all could be obtained for credits in the Mage Tower, making them highly sought after.

Yet credits were hard to obtain. Besides ranking rewards, they could be earned through academy tasks, but these were few and mostly monopolized by nobles.

Publishing articles was the real goldmine: if accepted, you received credits, and if borrowed by others, there was a share in the profits. Thus, it became the commoner’s preferred method.

Nobles, with elite education, started ahead of commoners, but those who made it in as commoners were the best of the best—only after reaching fourteen and testing their talents could they enroll, whereas nobles could start at eleven or twelve.

Life’s hardships combined with exceptional talent made commoners late bloomers. Research for articles required hard work, so commoner submissions had a higher acceptance rate than those from nobles.

Hence, nobles always sought credits. Although the enforcement team prevented outright robbery, they used various means to obtain credits from commoners. Credits couldn’t buy food, and families existed outside the academy, so credit exchanges were always 'mutually agreed upon.'

Borne’s first credit had come this way.

Wherever people gather, so does intrigue.

Even here, where harmony seemed to reign, competition was fierce.

But now that they’d come knocking, the tiger would not be mistaken for a sick cat!

He couldn’t best a lich, couldn’t defeat a dragon, but surely he could handle a bunch of brats.

Borne gripped his wooden tablet and summoned the Tower Spirit to activate his privileges.

A shift in scenery occurred, and when he regained his senses, he stood in a strange chamber.

All around were sealed stone walls, guarded by powerful wards. On the central pedestal rested a delicate box.

“This must be the container for the golden scroll,” Borne said, approaching. As his hand touched the box, a surge of magic swept over him, interacting with his wooden tablet.

A soft click sounded, the box opened automatically, and the golden scroll lay quietly at its center.

Borne took a deep breath, calming himself—he finally beheld the legendary Nether Scroll.

Unrolling it, he saw a sheet of thin, flexible gold foil, eight by ten inches, just a bit shorter than A4 paper.

As he gazed upon it, silver script flowed across its surface, alive with motion. It was no writing Borne recognized, yet each glyph conveyed its meaning directly to his mind.

“Is it consciousness transmission? Or 'divine script'?”

It was said that the gods’ language had similar effects, but Borne was sure this was not divine writing. This magical font, akin to the laws themselves, seemed readable to any intelligent being.

The scroll began with analysis and crafting of the longsword, illustrated with diagrams.

He finished 'reading' the information quickly, and, as if knowing he was done, the scroll’s script rearranged itself, presenting new content.

Now it described forging and dismantling a necklace—Borne marveled at the magic of it.

He knew he had only an hour, so he focused intently, memorizing as fast as possible.

Years of practice had granted him a unique approach: he didn’t seek immediate comprehension, only stuffed as much information as possible into his head.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but the faster he memorized, the quicker the scroll’s script changed. The scroll began to emit a faint golden glow, and the process shifted from active to passive—words seemed to 'drill' into his eyes, and his mind was suddenly awash with new knowledge.

The sensation was familiar, reminiscent of awakening past-life memories. If that had been an avalanche overwhelming him, this was a gentle snowfall swirling overhead.

Yet, as the snow thickened, memories buried deep erupted like another avalanche—still, the snow did not cease…

When Borne finally regained awareness, the Nether Scroll was gone, and his mind felt as if it had been unlocked.

“…Hm? Nosebleed?!”

He quickly tore strips of cloth and plugged his nostrils.

“Is this clearing a brain clot…”

This awakening brought a surge of memories; perhaps, now that he was an Arcanist, his mental strength was greater, and he didn’t faint this time.

These memory fragments… Was he truly awakened? Had he really crossed worlds?

Or was he a native of Toril who somehow acquired the memories of a traveler?

The sheer volume of memories sent Borne spiraling into self-doubt.

Fortunately, his body’s natural functions pulled him back to reality.

He was hungry…

“Enough. Why fret over such things? Whether I’m a traveler or a native, I am myself!”

“First, I’ll fill my belly!”

Borne sat on the pedestal, took out some rations from his magical pouch, and began to eat, all while sorting through his new memories.

He’d gained not only a wealth of magical knowledge, but also many fragments of his previous life, including crucial information about Toril and the multiverse.

His previous life… Yes, let’s call it that.

To his surprise, his past self had been a tabletop gaming enthusiast—for only the most devoted players would research background lore.

Background info and major event timelines were exactly what he needed now.

Was this my cheat?

Good. If it were some random system, he’d be wary of using its strange 'golden finger.'

Beyond the flood of information, a new spell rune had appeared in Borne’s mental space.

The first spell rune: [Light Orb].

“So it really is arcane…”

His magical power had also grown a bit—using the Nether Scroll to 'exploit' advancement to Arcanist really worked.

Still, Arcanists who advanced via the Nether Scroll lacked the depth of those who mastered it on their own—just as in cultivation tales, those who relied on pills couldn’t beat those who trained naturally. But the advantage was scalability: with this method, you could produce masses of entry-level spellcasters.

With a broad enough base, the upper echelons could grow—and even add new layers!

Borne linked his consciousness to the new spell rune.

[Appraisal]?

It seemed the spells gained from the Nether Scroll were determined by the knowledge on the scroll itself.

Borne fiddled with his half-eaten white bread and used [Appraisal] on it.

Instantly, a report appeared:

White bread: Main ingredients flour, milk, butter

Effect: Increases sense of fullness

He stroked his chin, pondered, and tried again—this time pouring in more magic and mental power.

Half-eaten white bread: Made from refined flour, with a small amount of butter and milk, fermented and baked

Effect: Restores a bit of stamina, reduces hunger

“The name changed, the details and effects are more thorough, even the basic recipe is included!”

He continued to use [Appraisal] several times, each iteration yielding more detailed information.

Suddenly, inspiration struck—he used [Appraisal] on himself.

Name: Borne Iolum

Netherese Human

Netherese Arcanist

Level: 2

Basic attributes: Strength 1.1, Agility 1.3, Constitution 1.2, Intelligence 1.9, Perception 1.3, Charisma 5

Knowledge:

Diplomacy, disguise, arcana, architecture and engineering, dungeoneering, geography, history of Toril, nature, nobility and royalty, religion, planar lore, Abyssal inferno

Languages: Netherese noble tongue, Common

Martial training: Longsword techniques, monk breathing, shorthand

Spells:

Cantrips: Light Orb (Rune)

1st Circle: Appraisal (Rune+)

Daily spell slots:

Cantrips – 10

1st Circle – 6

…

Holy—was this a status screen?

Borne swore aloud; though he didn’t know what others saw when using [Appraisal], it surely wasn’t like his.

Did he really know himself so well…?

Clearly not. The difference must be the plus sign after the Appraisal rune—what did that mean?

Extra points?

Borne focused his mental energy and tried a few times, but nothing changed.

“No luck? I thought my cheat was fully functional…”

He grumbled, but inside, he felt relieved—not possessed by anything dubious.

Jumping down from the stone platform, he contacted the Tower Spirit, only to discover more than a day had passed.

After several encounters, Borne realized the Tower Spirit lacked true intelligence—it was more like a mechanical AI from his previous life (or an idiot).

Suddenly, a new idea popped into Borne’s mind. His lips curled into a wicked smile…

…