After hearing the riddle, Alex felt extremely happy because he knew the answer, but as he was about to answer, he stopped, feeling that the riddle was too easy and simple compared to the previous two riddles.
'The Logical answer to the riddle is an (Echo) as an echo doesn't have a mouth to speak, doesn't have ears to hear, and could answer by repeating the sound,' Alex thought, reevaluating his answer.
Alex quickly looked toward the sand cloak and saw he still had more than half his total time left, and then he looked toward the librarian, who had a kind smile on his face, which revealed no information.
Alex knew about the Librarian trial's reputation well and understood that each riddle the librarian presented would be more complex and harder than the last, which was true for the first two riddles.
But the third and final riddle was extremely simple and easily filled with clues, which didn't sit well with Alex as he felt there should be more to the riddle than met the eyes.
Alex remembered the librarian's expression and tone when he said the riddle to find any additional clues but found none, and then he focussed on the riddle itself, trying to decipher any hidden meaning.
Alex got engrossed in finding the hidden meaning of the riddle, and as moments passed, his anxiety grew stronger because, with every passing moment, he was finding a different answer.
'Wind, Idea, Writing, Reflection, Book, Dream, Any of these could be the answer, but these answers are no different than the first answer that I came up with,' Alex thought, feeling his brain hurt as he looked at the dwindling time.
There were only forty seconds left, and Alex had yet to find a unique answer that solved the riddle, and no matter how much he thought, he was unable to locate even a single clue that satisfied him.
'I am overthinking the riddle, which the librarian knew I would, and that's precisely what he wanted me to do,' Alex thought, realizing the only possible reason behind the simple riddle.
Alex was unsure about his conclusion, but after wasting more than a minute in silence thinking about various answers, which only made him feel further from the truth, his conclusion was the only thing that made sense.
Alex was still skeptical, knowing the librarian could have easily predicted him reaching such a conclusion, but he didn't dwell on that thought, understanding he didn't have the time to do so.
"The Answer is an Echo," Alex said, half expecting it to be wrong while the last of the sand came down in the hourglass.
"Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one, but something there is a much greater meaning to something than meets the eye," The librarian said with a smile, making Alex feel anxious if he answered correctly or not.
"Adventurer, Now the Sage's Tome belongs to you." The librarian said, and instantly, a green rune materialized over the grimoire, which slowly disintegrated into nothingness.
Alex felt relief knowing he had two of three grimoires, and it was only a matter of time before he collected the third and completed the Archmage Goldfridus's legacy.
"Honored librarian, it was a pleasure meeting with you," Alex said, placing the grimoire in his inventory as he stood up, ready to leave.
------------------
Alex was currently in the second largest city in the Gold Kingdom, named "Opulencia," making his way toward the Aureate Merchect Group main branch to meet with the merchant group owner to hopefully acquire the third grimoire.
The Aureate Merchect Group was the second largest merchant organization on the human continent, and its owner was named Morgan Alston, which the world knew him as, but in reality, his name was Morgan Gold.
Morgan belonged to the Gold Royal clan, or more precisely, his ancestor did, and he couldn't reveal it because if he did that, he would get hunted down because his ancestor, who was a blood brother to the Gold clan patriarch a few generations ago was the most hated person by the Gold clan.
Morgan's ancestor was hated because he was responsible for killing his brother, the king, and killing the supreme Elder and four Elders while also destroying all the records of the ancient Magic arts and research records left by the first King.
It was unknown why he did it, but there was a big reason behind it because even his descendant, someone like Morgan, who was probably as influential as the king himself, was hell-bent on destroying the gold clan and anything close to them.
The public knew the Morgan and the Gold clan rivalry as just two merchant group rivalry, but Alex knew better that in the coming years, Morgan would create untold chaos and would nearly wipe out 80% of the Gold clan and a majority of the other two Royal clans.
'I hope Morgan is willing to sell the (Ethereal Compendium) otherwise, I will need to think of some other plan to acquire it,' Alex thought as he made his way toward the towering building in the distance.
Alex couldn't threaten Morgan with his knowledge if he refused to sell it unless he planned to get him killed, and the same was true with using force, so the next best option he had left was to somehow steal it.
The last option Alex had was to first gain Morgan's trust, and then, at some point, he will get offered the Ethereal Compendium, a magic grimoire, as a reward for some quest.
Alex didn't want to take the last route because he had no clue what he needed to do to gain Morgan's trust and acquire the grimoire.
After a few minutes, Alex reached the Aureate Merchect Group building while being in the appearance of Aeon.
Alex created the avatar just to enter the Thunder Knight Order, but after his performance in the death games, he gained quite a reputation among players and NPCs, which only grew with his disappearance.
Alex planned to use his status as a thunder Knight to get a meeting with Morgan and offer him the Kismet Damnation, a legendary quality spear, in exchange for the grimoire.
The other reason Alex was using his avatar was that if Morgan didn't accept the deal, he planned to steal it from his collection vault, and if the heist didn't go to shit and his guardian didn't end up killing Morgan and his goons.
Morgan will suspect Alex because of his previous interest, but he will need to think ten times before targeting him because of his status, and as for a shadow attack, it was far from a problem with two colossal watching over him.
'I wonder what is driving this Rich and influential bastard to put everything he and his ancestors created on the line to destroy the Gold Kingdom,' Alex thought, standing before the towering building.
The building stretches for hundreds of feet, made from rare crystals with a unique texture, gold, and other precious metals used to give a simple yet artistic appearance, and massive arched windows grace the front of the building.
Through these windows, one can catch glimpses of elegant interiors, hinting at the splendor that lies within the merchant group's headquarters.
While Guards at the peak of the fifth Rank adorned in armor of high quality stood all around the building, keeping watch on every individual in the vicinity.
Alex entered the building and made his way toward the reception desk, and seeing him approaching, the elf receptionist adorned in elegant attire greeted him with a warm smile.
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