Chapter 098

Alvin went outside the booth for information and went back to the area where books were being sold. He tried to look for 'The Sea Creature Chronicles' mong the various books that were there. Alvin noticed that the collection was really lacklustre compared to the books by the other churches. For example, he had brought a few great books on basic rituals and ceremonies in the Church of Evernight's tent, and a few books on mechanical engineering and crafting in the Beyonder domain in the God of Steam and Machinery's tent. While he had no immediate use for them, they seemed to be decent reads for passing the time.

The Church of the Lord of Storms had very few books in the first place. And what were there were only reprints of books by ordinary people and adventures of their time at the sea and their tips. Nothing that could interest Beyonders.

"No one really comes here for the books. It's just been set up because all the other churches have it" said a voice.

Alvin looked up to see a clean-shaven young man standing in front of him.

"Colin Sextant. The unfortunate man who was assigned to stand behind these dusty books today" said the man.

"Alvin Jonas" said Alvin, meeting his handshake.

"It's not surprising that the books here are lacking. Most of the great books you will find from the other two churches, be it about the rituals, ceremonies, exorcism, and purification by purification Church of Evernight, or the analytical thoughts, experiences, configuration, and ideas by the Church of God of Steam and Machinery, they are written by the higher-ups, about all the things they learned and understood when they were at a lower Sequence, with the benefit of hindsight. When they are relatively freer, they sit down and write such books, which are treasures for future generations" said Colin.

"On the other hand, it's surprising enough for the higher-ups of the Church of the Lord of Storms to sit still, much less so and write books. Most of the things they have learnt in the lower Sequence is combat, and they would be happy to practically teach the next generation instead of leaving them books. Hence, it is much harder to find books about the sea, and naval warfare, even in the internal libraries of the Chuch of the Lord of Storms" he continued.

"I am looking for a collection of books called 'The Sea Creature Chronicles.' Any idea where it is?" asked Alvin.

"One of the very few books that was actually written by someone from the church. Too bad it is not that popular" said Colin, as he gestured him towards the back. There, he saw a few boxes.

"The books are in the box?" asked Alvin owning a box.

"No. Each of the boxes is a complete set of the book" said Colin.

Alvin started speechlessly at the large tightly packed box. He figured he couldn't finish reading this in a month.

"Haha. The look on your face is priceless. Apparently, whoever recommend it to you did not mention how huge the collection was" said Colin.

"What's the story with this huge box of books?" asked Alvin.

"Well, as you know the sea is like endless. And profitable. Many of the Beyonder ingredients come from the sea. This is because the sea is the birthplace of many of them, and others usually end up in the sea, because it's easy to die and end up in the sea. A Seafarer decided to compile all the records, sightings, and personal findings and make this huge set of books, detailing all creatures at sea. He kept finding more and more every time he thought he had finished, and thus the final result was like this" said Colin.

"Weren't they popular?" asked Alvin.

"At first people expected them to be. The church itself funded 200 copies of the set, which as you can see by the number of pages each book has, was a colossal expense. But the church expected them to quickly sell most if not all copies. Unfortunately, barely 100 copies were sold. Most of them to nobles who wanted very thick books to show off to their peers. About a dozen were sold off to some other churches and interested parties, but a lot of them still remain, collecting dust. The church still keeps them here hoping someone would buy off them" said Colin.

"Why aren't they selling well? This seems like a great book with detailed illustrations" asked Alvin flipping through the book.

"Well, most people never go to the sea. This includes Beyonders. And even if they go, they prefer to stay on a ship, and not enter the waters. A book detailing creatures of the water is kinda pointless for them, isn't it? And it depicts so many organisms; you would be surprised at the number, and except for a few of them like Mermaids and Obninsk, none of them has any kind of use or speciality. And for those Beyonder creatures or those that find some use in rituals, their locations were deliberately left out. So most of the books are just another species of this, that, and another thing. You can see how that would disinterest people"

"Looks like they are going to get rid of yet another set. How much is it?" asked Alvin.

"It's 100 pounds. I know, it's expensive, but the profit margin barely reaches 20 pounds after the printing and finishing. And the church doesn't get the idea of flash sales and discounts" said Colin.

Alvin nodded, and handed over a hundred pounds. He then asked, "Is it okay if I take it with me afterwards, when I am leaving?"

"You can't take it with you. It would be pretty suspicious to carry a huge box out into the banquet hall, wouldn't it? Leave an address, and it will be delivered to you a little after the meeting" said Colin.

Alvin nodded, and gave the address of the Nighthawks office.

"Thank you for the purchase. My shift is almost up. Would you like to get a coffee?" asked Colin.

"That sounds familiar. He sounds like Kevin" thought Alvin, but he said sure and went along with Colin.