Fantasy Writers 1860

The book club was held in a meeting room that was neither too big nor too small.

There wasn't anything special set up in the meeting room; after all, it was a bi-weekly meeting, and everyone was already tired of the novelty.

The book club is mainly aimed at combat librarians in the field departments, because they need to use the power of the phantom books frequently on the front lines.

The power of a magical book is closely related to the user's understanding of it. Even the same magical book can vary in quality depending on the user's level of understanding.

Therefore, for combat librarians, book clubs are not just a simple matter of reading books and sharing their thoughts, but rather an activity akin to combat training and exchanging experiences.

After the regular sharing and discussion sessions, people often chat for a while, which naturally includes greetings and small talk with people they haven't seen in a long time.

Of course, anyone else who is interested is welcome to participate; all are welcome.

When Lily pushed open the conference room door, a girlish scent mixed with the aroma of citrus wafted towards her.

"Big Sister!"

A pink-haired girl wearing a dark green dress was waving at her.

It's Polina.

"Long time no see." Lily walked over, her tone indifferent.

"Of course! I remember the last time I saw my older sister, it was just like last time..." Polina enthusiastically took her arm. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to this book club too!"

"I just found out." Lily casually pulled her arm away. "I just found out I'm free today."

She doesn't really like any form of physical contact.

He treats everyone this way, and his tolerance towards someone as close as Polina is already quite high.

Polina didn't seem to mind, and continued, "I heard that the book we're reading today is the fantasy book 'The Million Pound Stamp,' which was only recently elevated!"

"Um."

"I was reading this novel when it was being serialized, and when the standalone volume came out recently, I immediately bought a copy. I just didn't expect it to become a fantasy book... Sister, have you read it before?" Polina said as she took out a beautifully bound standalone copy of "The Million Pound" from the small bag she was carrying.

"I've seen it before," Lily said casually.

"Oh, I see..." Polina put the book back in her bag, then pretended to rummage through it, pulling out another identical volume. "Eh—Big sister, I accidentally bought an extra one... Perfect, this extra one will..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Dislife, who came in from outside. "What are you all doing blocking the doorway? Hurry up and go inside and find a place to sit!"

Polina's expression froze for a moment, then she gave an awkward laugh. Lily didn't say anything more, but went inside and found a place to sit down.

Dorian, who had been watching from a distance for a long time, exchanged glances with another boy in white beside him before finally walking towards the conference room door.

While Dorian was still in the corridor, he noticed that Polina and Lily were blocking the door. Having learned from his previous experience, he chose not to interrupt rashly this time and decided to observe the situation for the time being.

So as not to ruin Polina's plan, which she thought was going to be all the time, and to avoid giving her the look that she was about to kill her.

Although she certainly wouldn't actually kill herself, being stared at like that every day would make her feel uncomfortable.

Even if that person is a beautiful girl, it won't work.

Dorian entered the conference room and saw that everyone was sitting casually, so he also found a place to sit near the door.

The conference room was soon nearly full, mostly with combat scribes from the Academy of Literature and Strategy, and some civilian staff in plain clothes whispering in the corner.

Lily glanced around and saw that most of the people sitting in the front row were familiar faces: Howard, the "inner page" of the third combat squad; Margaret, the "title page" of the fifth squad; and Roderick, the stern-faced "cover page" of the second squad.

Combat librarians are usually organized into three-person teams, with each person's position named after a book structure:

The "inner pages" are responsible for the main output, deeply resonating with the battle grimoire and directly harnessing its power; the "title pages" are responsible for support and control, carrying multiple functional grimoires; the "cover pages" are more flexible, their main job is containment, carrying the "blank sealing book" specially made by the Academy of Literature and Art, and performing sealing and containment measures after dangerous targets are suppressed.

But this is usually the last step; before that, one can be flexible and adaptable.

"Everyone, please be quiet."

Disiffi's voice wasn't loud, but it immediately silenced everyone.

"Today we're going to discuss 'The Million Pound Note'." Disiffi held up the book she had just borrowed from Polina. "This book has been very popular recently, and I believe many of you have already read it. It also evolved into a fantasy book upon its completion."

A murmur arose from the audience.

Disliffe is right. With the influence of numerous newspaper criticisms of The Lentinion Weekly, offline protests, and Samuel's copycat crime, it would be difficult not to know about this book.

But setting aside these external factors, no one would have imagined that it would be elevated to the level of a fantasy book, and even a deluxe edition at that.

Everyone present knew perfectly well what a hardcover edition meant.

Based on the depth and intensity of their concepts, fantasy books are divided into four levels: paperback, hardcover, collector's edition, and special edition.

Although there are four levels, more than 80% of the fantasy books are actually paperback editions. It is rare for them to reach the hardcover level. Fantasy books above the hardcover level have their own unique core concepts. If users can deeply resonate with them, they can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Of course, this also means a more perplexing "cost" and a higher barrier to understanding.

Putting aside the side effects, just considering the comprehension barrier, everyone feels that the content and concepts of "The Million Pound Note" are quite easy to understand, right? They're not some very deep or basic concepts.

"Considering that there are still new members joining this book club, I would like to emphasize a basic concept again," Disifei's gaze swept across the room, "that is, the same fantasy book can be of different levels of quality depending on the user's understanding."

Many of the newly promoted combat librarians unconsciously sat up straight.

"The Book of Illusions is not a weapon, not a tool; it is the manifestation of one or more concepts. If you only understand its literal meaning, you will never be able to unleash its true power." Dislifei's tone was calm and serious. "Therefore, the depth of one's understanding of the Book of Illusions directly determines the upper limit of a librarian's strength."

Lily had seen too many examples like this, such as someone holding a special edition of the magic book but not being able to unleash even 30% of its power, while someone holding a very ordinary paperback book could produce amazing results.

Often, the difference lies not in the book itself, but in the user's understanding of it.

"Alright, let's do it as usual. Everyone, please share your understanding of this magical book. Don't be shy. Roderick, you start first, and then we'll go in order," Dislifei continued.