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Chapter 453: , Creator

Joshua slowly walked down from the top floor of the Mage Tower of the gray-clothed man, holding the stone-like relic in his hand.

An hour ago, Joshua arrived at the Mage Tower of the gray-clothed man as promised. The Wise Sage had also preliminarily determined the function of this relic.

‘after it was activated, there was magic power constantly spreading in the surroundings, as if it was transmitting some kind of message. It might be a cry for help or to gather companions.’

This was the original sentence of the gray-clothed man.

Gather Companions? Joshua looked at the blue interface on the stone slab.

If the special magic-conducting machine could attract the people who made it, Joshua would be happy to open it for a period of time every day.

“Stop!”

When Joshua came to the lowest level of the Mage Tower, he heard an angry shout.

A large amount of feathers fell from the sky, and an extremely fat owl suddenly landed on Joshua’s shoulder.

“Damn it! I’ll Catch You One day and stew you in soup!”

The source of the shout was the ‘retired’judge, Cheryl.

The judge, who looked extremely young, was holding a silver kitchen knife in her hand and shouting angrily at the owl on Joshua’s shoulder.

The Fat Owl was mocking the judge, who was not as strong as before.

“What’s Wrong?”

Josh looked at the judge’s clothes from head to toe. She was wearing an apron and seemed to be preparing lunch.

“That owl named Josh Ate My Fish Again!”

Cheryl waved the kitchen knife in her hand, which made Joshua suspect that this miss judge would throw the kitchen knife at the owl standing on Joshua’s shoulder if she was unhappy.

The Owl made a gurgling sound again, flapped its wings and flew directly into the upper level of the Mage Tower.

“If it wasn’t forbidden by the gray-clothed person, that fat pigeon… No, the Owl won’t live long!”

Cheryl wiped the kitchen knife with her fingertip.

Jose had never doubted the former Adjudicator’s combat ability, but unfortunately, in this mage tower, the owl belonged to the ‘noble’class, the two adjudicator ladies staying here belonged to the category of commoners or lower-level maids.

The gray-clothed person was famous in Nolan for raising owls. When Jose climbed up the Mage Tower previously, he could see a bunch of owls standing on the beam with every few steps.

If the gray-clothed man had not set up some kind of enchantment on the first floor, the first floor of the Mage Tower, where Cheryl lived, would have been in a mess.

“Is this why you want to move out?”

Joshua glanced around the mage tower. Cheryl had cleaned up the area, but there was no ‘private space’.

Both the bed for sleeping and the desk for personal use were placed in the hall on the first floor.

The Mage Tower of the gray-clothed man was indeed effective in resisting the enemy’s invasion, but the living conditions might be a little worse than ordinary hotels.

“It doesn’t feel good to get up every morning and be stared at by a group of owls,”Cheryl said.

“Is that so?”

Joshua had let them temporarily stay in the Mage Tower of the gray-clothed men to prevent the heretic judges from attacking them.

However, the judges seemed to have learned their lesson during this period of time. It had been a long time since Joshua had met those guys.

Even though Nolan’s teleportation node had opened and connected to the country of the holy church, he had not encountered any holy army that came to find trouble with Joshua.

“Do you remember what I told you last time?”Joshua did not only visit the mage tower to look for the gray-clothed man, he also came to look for Cheryl.

“Are you talking about… turning that diary into a real book?”

Cheryl serialized the “Heretic Judge’s diary”on the magic web purely out of interest. At first, she did not think of making money with her diary.

But even she herself did not expect that after coming to Nolan, this book became her only source of income.

“You guessed right,”said Jose.

“But is there really anyone who would be willing to pay for my diary?”

Cheryl still had some self-awareness of how bad her diary writing was.

Cheryl, who was born ordinary, was not very talented in writing. At the beginning of her diary, she also used extremely simple language to describe some daily events.

She had stayed in the Mage Tower of the gray-clothed man for a long time and tried to read several books in the Mage Tower to improve her literary skills.

No matter which book she took out from the surrounding bookshelves, the author’s writing skills were much better than Cheryl’s.

Therefore, when she uploaded it to the Immovable Library, Cheryl did not expect her diary to be so popular.

“As the most popular book in the Immovable Library, I think your readers will be happy to buy a physical book.”

Joshua took out two contracts and handed them to the judge in front of him.

She took the two contracts that Joshua handed over. One of the contracts had her name on it, and the other one had Denisa’s name on it.

Cheryl skimmed through the contents of the contract. The regulations on it were very common commercial terms.

“Why… is it signed by the Royal Library of Faroese?”Cheryl raised her head and pointed at the last column of the contract. She thought that Jose had bought the publishing rights of her diary.

“Because the king of Faroese is also a loyal reader of yours.”Jose said a piece of news that stunned Cheryl for about three seconds.

The king of Faroese, this name Cheryl could only be seen on the highest level of the Heretic Court’s bounty notice!

“Does the king also read Denise’s book?”Cheryl asked tentatively.

“Uh… The Nun’s book is a little special, so it was published under my name. I just randomly picked a Hearthstone Library.”

If Joshua remembered correctly, the organization that made books into ‘commodities’in this world was located in the major libraries of the world.

Each library had its own unique collection of books and books for sale.

“How about it? Are you willing to accept it?”Joshua asked.

“What if it can’t be sold?”

Cheryl still did not have much confidence in materializing her diary.

After all, reading Cheryl’s diary sharing on the Spellcaster Forum did not cost money, but if it turned into a paper book, it would require a certain amount of money to be able to browse through its contents.

“If you can’t sell it, it’s very simple. You’ll starve to death on the streets.”Joshua smiled and made a joke that made this miss judge tremble all over. “Of course, this is just an example. Please believe in your readers, Miss Cheryl. Those words are the result of your hard work. The readers won’t be stingy in spending a certain amount of money to support your creation. Similarly, I’ll arrange a signing ceremony for you. Simply put, it’s a chance to meet your readers.”

“The book signing…”Cheryl muttered. As a former judge, she had always been alone. Even now, Cheryl was not used to being exposed to the public.

However, no one liked to hide in the dark. Cheryl subconsciously opened the interface of the magic net and looked at the pile of comments under her book. Whether it was because she wanted to know the development of the plot.., or because she wanted to pay attention to her current situation, or because she wanted to see the comments of the next chapter faster, Cheryl carefully read each and every one of them.

“I can try.”

After hesitating for a moment, Cheryl, who was used to holding daggers, picked up a pen on the table and signed her name on the contract.

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    Reader0722
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    Chapter 453: Creator
    Holding the stone-like relic carefully, Joshua descended the winding stairs from the top floor of Lursk's sage tower.

    An hour prior, he had arrived at the tower as arranged. The Wise Sage had already conducted a preliminary assessment of the relic's function.

    ‘Upon activation, a constant stream of magical energy radiated outwards, as if broadcasting a message. It might be a plea for aid or a beacon to gather companions.’

    These were the precise words of the gray sage.

    'Gather Companions?' Joshua’s gaze drifted to the blue interface shimmering on the stone slab.

    If this peculiar magic-conducting device held the potential to attract its creators, he would gladly dedicate a portion of each day to its activation.

    “Stop!”

    As Joshua reached the ground floor of the Sage Tower, a sharp, irate voice cut through the air.

    A flurry of feathers rained down, and an exceptionally plump owl alighted clumsily on his shoulder.

    “Damn it! One day, I’ll catch you and turn you into soup!”

    The outburst originated from the ‘retired’ heretical inquisitor, Cheryl.

    Despite her youthful appearance, she brandished a silver kitchen knife, directing her furious shouts at the owl perched on Joshua’s shoulder.

    The Fat Owl, seemingly unfazed, let out a series of hoots that sounded suspiciously like mockery of her diminished strength.

    “What’s wrong?”

    Joshua’s eyes scanned Cheryl’s attire from head to toe. She wore an apron, suggesting she was in the midst of preparing lunch.

    “That owl, the one named Josh, ate my fish again!”

    Cheryl punctuated her words with a wave of the kitchen knife, making Joshua wonder if she might impulsively hurl the blade at the avian culprit currently residing on his person.

    The Owl responded with another gurgling hoot, then with a flap of its substantial wings, it soared upwards towards the higher levels of the Tower.

    “If he hadn’t forbidden it, that fat pigeon… No, that Owl wouldn’t last another day!”

    Cheryl ran a finger along the sharp edge of the kitchen knife.

    Joshua harbored no doubts about the former inquisitor’s formidable combat skills, but within the confines of the sage tower, the owl occupied a ‘noble’ status, while the two inquisitors residing there fell into the category of commoners or, at best, lower-level household staff.

    The gray sage held a renowned reputation throughout Norland for his extensive collection of owls. During Joshua’s previous ascents of the Tower, he had observed numerous owls perched on the beams at regular intervals.

    Without the gray sage’s protective enchantments on the first floor, Cheryl’s living space would undoubtedly have devolved into utter chaos.

    “Is this the primary reason for your desire to move out?”

    Joshua cast a sweeping glance around the ground floor. Cheryl had diligently tidied the area, yet it lacked any semblance of ‘private space.’

    Both her sleeping arrangements and a small desk for personal use were situated in the open hall, a consequence of the Tower’s wall-less design on this level.

    The gray sage’s Tower undeniably offered formidable defense against external threats, but its living accommodations were arguably less comfortable than those of a modest inn.

    “It’s rather unsettling to wake up each morning to the unblinking stares of a dozen owls,” Cheryl admitted.

    “Is that so?”

    Joshua had initially offered them temporary refuge within the sage Tower as a precaution against potential attacks from remaining heretic inquisitors.

    However, their time in Norland seemed to have instilled a degree of caution. It had been a considerable period since Joshua had last encountered any of them.

    Even with the reopening of Norland’s teleportation node and its connection to Aetherion, no temple knights had yet materialized to seek retribution against Joshua.

    “Do you recall our conversation from last time?” Joshua’s visit to the tower wasn’t solely to consult the gray sage; he also had a specific purpose in seeking out Cheryl.

    “Are you referring to… the prospect of transforming that diary into an actual book?”

    Cheryl had begun serializing her “Heretic Inquisitor's Diary” on the magic net purely as a personal endeavor. Initially, the thought of monetizing her writings hadn't even crossed her mind.

    Yet, to her surprise, upon arriving in Norland, this very diary had become her primary, if not sole, source of income.

    “Your memory serves you well,” Joshua confirmed.

    “But is there truly anyone who would willingly part with their money for my humble diary?”
    Cheryl retained a realistic assessment of her writing abilities.

    Born into ordinary circumstances, Cheryl possessed no particular literary talent. The early entries in her diary were characterized by simple language and straightforward accounts of daily occurrences.

    During her extended stay in the tower, she had diligently attempted to improve her writing by reading several tomes from the Mage Tower’s book collection.

    Regardless of the volume she selected from the surrounding shelves, the author’s command of language invariably surpassed Cheryl’s own by a significant margin.

    Consequently, when she uploaded her work to the Roaming Library, Cheryl harbored no grand expectations of widespread popularity.

    “As the most frequently accessed book within the Library, I am confident that your dedicated readership will eagerly embrace the opportunity to acquire a physical copy.” Joshua produced two contracts and extended them towards her.

    Cheryl accepted the offered documents. One contract bore her name, while the other was addressed to Denisa.

    She quickly scanned the contents of the contracts. The terms outlined within were standard commercial clauses.

    “Why… is this signed by the Royal Library of Farucci?” Cheryl looked up, pointing to the final column of the contract. She had assumed Joshua had personally acquired the publishing rights to her diary.

    “Because the king of Farucci happens to be one of your most devoted readers,” he revealed, delivering news that left her momentarily speechless for a full three seconds.

    The king of Farucci—a name Cheryl had previously only encountered on the highest tier of the heretical tribunal’s bounty notices!

    “Does the king also read Denise’s book?” she inquired tentatively.

    “Ah… The Nun’s book is of a somewhat… unique nature, so it’s being published under my name. I simply selected a genre of the Library at random for that one.”

    If Joshua’s memory served him correctly, the primary institutions responsible for transforming written works into tangible ‘commodities’ in this world were the major libraries scattered across the land.

    Each library maintained its own distinct collection of books available for purchase and borrowing.

    “So, what do you say? Are you willing to accept?” he prompted.

    “What if it doesn’t sell?” Cheryl still lacked confidence in the tangible manifestation of her diary.

    After all, accessing her diary on the Mage Forum incurred no cost, but a physical book would require a financial investment to peruse its contents.

    “If it doesn’t sell, the outcome is quite simple. You’ll face starvation in the streets.” Joshua offered a wry smile, delivering a jest that nonetheless sent a shiver down her spine. “Of course, that’s merely a hyperbolic illustration. Please have faith in your readers, Miss Cheryl. These words are the product of your dedicated effort. I believe your readers will not hesitate to invest a small sum to support your creative endeavors. Furthermore, I will arrange a book signing ceremony for you. In essence, it’s an opportunity to connect directly with your audience.”

    “The book signing…” Cheryl murmured, the unfamiliar concept rolling off her tongue. As a former inquisitor, solitude had been her constant companion. Even now, the prospect of public exposure felt somewhat daunting.
    Yet, a deep-seated desire to step out of the shadows lingered within her. Cheryl instinctively accessed the magic net interface, her gaze drawn to the multitude of comments beneath her book. Whether driven by a desire to know the plot’s progression, a need to gauge her current standing, or simply the anticipation of the next chapter’s revelations, Cheryl meticulously read each and every comment.

    “I can try.”

    After a moment of hesitation, Cheryl, whose hands were more accustomed to the grip of daggers, picked up a pen from the table and inscribed her name on the contract.
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