Lucas continued toward the third floor. He was already on the second, just one level away from his destination.
Then he stopped.
A familiar figure stood not far away.
A girl around his age, wearing glasses and casual clothing, with a staff apron tied around her waist.
Lucas recognized her instantly, even though they had never met.
Hannah Montane.
One of the heroines.
He didn't approach her right away. Instead, Lucas slowed his steps and rubbed his chin, his gaze lingering on her while his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
In the original storyline, Leon had met Hannah on the third floor while searching for an arcane alchemy recipe.
But Lucas had no urgent reason to meet her now.
She was indeed one of the heroines, but at the moment, she was nothing more than an ordinary human. She couldn't cultivate, nor did she possess any immediate value.
Still, a heroine was a heroine. She would have her uses eventually.
Just not now.
"Another time," Lucas murmured, resuming his climb toward the third floor.
---
While Garran leisurely explored the first floor, Lucas was already surrounded by towering shelves packed with books.
The original story had never explained exactly where Leon found the technique. It only mentioned that he obtained it somewhere on the third floor.
Lucas reached up and removed the jade pendant from around his neck.
"Athena," he said softly, "I need your help."
"What is it?" Athena's voice replied calmly.
"I'm looking for a scroll," Lucas said. "It's called Soul Imprint."
"That sounds rather ordinary," Athena replied. "Is it powerful?"
"In this world, yes," Lucas answered. "I can't say how it compares to techniques from your world."
"I'll see what I can do," Athena replied.
The jade slipped free from the necklace and hovered in the air, emitting a faint glow as it slowly drifted across the room, as if scanning the shelves.
After a short while, it returned to Lucas's chest.
Lucas noticed her smile in his mind.
"Don't worry," Athena said. "I won't disappear. A month is a month. I keep my word."
"That's reassuring," Lucas replied, letting out a quiet breath. "So? Did you find it?"
"Yes," Athena said. "Shelf one hundred and twenty, on the third line."
Lucas smirked. "Good thing we're partners."
He made his way toward the shelf. "Where exactly?"
"Next to the arcane alchemy section," Athena answered. "It's hidden there."
Lucas scanned the nearby shelves and quickly found several alchemy tomes. Most of them were unremarkable, filled with little more than basic knowledge or encyclopedic entries on alchemy.
As he flipped through book after book, Athena couldn't suppress her curiosity.
"How did you know that technique was here?"
"Instinct," Lucas replied curtly.
Athena didn't press further. She knew Lucas was clearly lying, but it wasn't her concern.
After a while, Lucas's gaze settled on a particular book.
Arcane Alchemy.
A simple title.
Outdated, weathered, and nearly illegible.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
This was the very book Leon was meant to find.
Lucas pulled it out without hesitation.
As he did, something slipped free beside it.
A scroll.
"Well, isn't this convenient," Lucas muttered. "It's like hitting two birds with one stone."
He picked up the scroll.
Its surface was covered in old, intricate runes, worn down by time but still carefully carved. Beneath the title was a clear warning written in bold letters:
Cursed Technique: Soul Imprint.
Lucas opened it carefully.
The old parchment crackled as it unfolded, revealing deep black runes spread across the page. They pulsed faintly, giving off a weak trace of magical energy. The power was thin and unstable, clearly damaged by age, but that didn't matter.
As long as there was even a small trace of mana left, it could be repaired.
A sense of satisfaction filled him. This technique was incredibly rare. If he brought it to the House of Wisdom, he could easily trade it for an S-rank technique, maybe even something greater.
But he had no intention of doing that.
Lucas knew exactly what this technique was and how it should be used. In the right hands, it was far more valuable than any trade.
"You've got what you wanted," Athena said. "What now?"
Lucas rolled the scroll back up and held it close. A confident smile spread across his face.
"Now," he said calmly, "we go to the Creed Mountain Order."