He went forward first to find books on demons, perusing through the book sections until he found them.
He moved to a corner where he could sit alone and placed those books there, then returned to the sections to look for texts regarding the Purple Hermis Stone.
He didn’t see any specific books on Hermis stones, but he found a book on "Magic Stones." He flipped through the pages for a moment to see if there could be a Hermis Stone entry somewhere.
He found it! The Purple Hermis Stone. But it wasn’t just about the purple one; there were different magic stones in general, which meant this whole book had become an object for his study.
He moved to the corner with it and placed it alongside the ones he had initially kept there. Then he sat and began reading.
...
Meanwhile, Aiden’s avatar had duplicated itself even further at some point.
Right now, these avatars were at different places within the city. One was in the food market, one was heading toward a blacksmith, and another was at the clothing shop.
They all moved to these different places to get items or make inquiries based on the requests of the guild members of Ravens Grave.
....
After a while of reading, his assumption that the strength and rank of a demon were determined by the lengths and curvature of their horns was confirmed. However, the book broke their ranks into seven categories:
Lesser Demons
Common Demons
Greater Demons
Barons
Archdemons
Demon Lords
Demon King
Based on the book’s writings, the first set of demons he and Laela had fought were all Lesser Demons.
The five demons from behind him in the final battle were Common Demons, and Mazrath, given that his demon magic was at least A-rank in strength, was a Greater Demon.
Barons were demons whose demon magic reached S-rank strength, and a single one was really very powerful.
The book also mentioned it was difficult to truly measure the strengths of Archdemons and Demon Lords, and there was barely any information on them.
The title of Demon King was reserved for one person, and according to the book, it was for the most powerful demon.
But the book didn’t say much about the Demon King either, which made Aiden unsatisfied enough to whisper to the system: "We know the stories that all of humanity and the dragons came together to fight the Demon King and his cohorts, but how powerful was this Demon King really?"
[It was a very powerful existence at the time. His strength rivaled the dragons, and it took all seven of them working together to seal him and his followers in the demon realm]
"So if the Demon King and his followers were sealed in the demon realm, how did we meet those ones in the dungeon?"
[The Dynamic Dungeon you came out from was a part of the Demon Realm, secluded from the rest of the realm perhaps, but you did step into it]
Aiden’s eyes widened at this realization, which prompted him to ask, "How big is this demon realm?"
[I am unable to give you this answer at your current level]
"That makes no sense. it’s not even a complicated question," Aiden sighed and let it be. He had gotten a fair understanding of some of it.
It seemed he had come to the end of his demon race study, and then the system sent him a notification:
[Side Quest: Read books containing information on the Demon Race → Complete]
[+4 stat points to Intelligence]
[You have gained +2500xp]
[XP Badge Boost: Additional +2500xp]
Aiden smiled broadly looking at the effect of the XP badge boost. Now he only wished he could have gotten more quests at that point.
However, he quickly delved into the study of magic stones next.
After a while of reading, he came to understand what they were.
They were the stones embedded in the staffs some mages carried, and each stone had a distinct function.
The Red Hermis Stone helped control mana for those who couldn’t control their magic efficiently.
The Purple Hermis Stone was a stone that gathered small amounts of mana from the surroundings to enhance one’s magic.
Now it made sense why Elena wanted it. Elena’s magic strength was ranked E, so her Origin water magic wasn’t exactly the best to work with.
But with the Purple Hermis Stone, she could at least enhance the strength of her magic to D-rank without extra mana cost from her, given the stone’s mana absorption properties from the surroundings.
Her lack of magic strength was also why she majorly practiced supplementary magics instead; that way she could cover for her weaknesses.
The last of the Hermis stones was the blue one. The Blue Hermis helped with curbing great magic power.
It helped a mage cast a spell at lesser intensity than its full strength. This type of magic stone was embedded in Thamoryn’s staff.
Aiden knew the title of Grand Magus was usually given to one who was at the pinnacle of magic in that kingdom, but having to use an item to curb just how powerful one was felt differently astonishing.
There were other types of stones that weren’t the Hermis types, but they all had one thing in common; they were all catalysts for magic!
Now that he was done studying them, there was only one more thing left for him to do here, and that was to check with the librarian for books containing King to God level supplementary spells.
He approached the librarian as intended and told her what he was looking for. She saw that he now had the badge of an Initiate and then told him:
"Kindly come back tomorrow. I’ll have the spell books containing King to God level magic positioned on this table, waiting for you." The librarian had a kind voice in the way she spoke.
Aiden simply nodded and was about to leave when she added, "It seems you haven’t been told yet."
He turned back toward her and asked, "Told what?"
"The library can only provide very few King, Emperor, and God level spells. The rest of the spell books regarding supplementary spells of that level have been split between the eight guilds," the librarian said.
"Help me understand this more, why were they split?" Aiden asked, rather curious.
"The current Grand Magus made it this way. She said it brought about some balance between the guilds. It’s been like this for a while."
"So in essence, certain King to God level spells can only be used and practiced by a certain guild and its members?" Aiden asked, trying to make further sense of it.
"Yes, that is the case in Oakenheart," she replied.
"Hmm..." Aiden muttered to himself, then nodded and said, "I’ll be back for the ones the library can provide then."
The librarian nodded back at him, and then he left.
"I guess the Promotion spell is Ravens Grave exclusive. Well, I’ll probably ask the captain then," Aiden said to himself.
It was sundown already, and he made his way toward the infirmary to see Alaric and the others as promised.
Thankfully, he arrived just in time, for they were fully prepared to leave and head back to their lives in the lower city.
They exchanged a few talks and pleasantries, and Alaric promised to throw a feast in Aiden’s name if he ever came back to his family home in the lower city. They thanked Aiden once again for saving their lives and then bade him farewell.
...
Several minutes later that evening, Alaric and his friends were leaving the upper city. Just as they crossed the gates of the upper city, some soldiers stepped in and blockaded their way from moving any further.
"What the—?" Alaric muttered with a puzzled expression on his face, as did Ingrid and Rakan.
A white horse with Thamoryn seated on its back then slowly walked up from behind the soldiers.
They all turned to see that devious smile on her face as she said, "Evening, friends."