“Kuup, kheuh, khheuhheuh.”
Who is it?
Who just made that laugh?
I glanced back and saw a young mage desperately holding her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.
“It’s okay to laugh out loud.”
“Ah, no, I’m sorry. Kheuh. Khheuhheuh.”
I told her to laugh since trying so hard to hold it in looked even more miserable.
I sighed and looked toward the door.
“Does the Old Man always have that kind of personality?”
The female mage who first brought up Sir Humboldt shrugged her shoulders.
She had taken off her robe and was dressed more simply than yesterday.
Her brown hair was tied up in a bun with a small stick used as a hairpin, and she wore a loose-fitting shirt and pants with slippers—clothes similar to the men around her.
Well, back when I was at the Academy, the graduate sisters all dressed like that.
“Honestly, the only person who even manages to talk properly with that Old Man is Brother Jason. And even that’s just barely.”
I could tell exactly what she meant by ‘barely.’
The only thing I’d heard from meeting him was five words: ‘Who, no problem.’
“But no matter how bad his personality is, he shouldn’t just kick someone out so abruptly when they politely ask for a word.”
“Ah, um, Count? Well…”
“Since Elder Tallio has gone into seclusion, the only source of information left is this Old Man here, but to be this uncooperative is just too much. He could at least spare a word. So why is everyone making that kind of face…”
Ah. No way. It can’t be.
I turned around with a stiff expression.
There, by the now-open door, stood Jason, laughing with his characteristic awkward chuckle as if embarrassed.
And next to him was Sir Humboldt, with his firm, angular jaw and sharp eyes staring at me like I was a piece of trash lying on the roadside.
“I’m sorry for my bad temper.”
“Ahahaha, Elder, it’s not like that.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Elder, wait, please wait!”
How can he just leave like this?
I can’t just let him go!
I lunged forward, trying to grab the Old Man by the hem of his pants.
Suddenly, I was thrown.
Huh?
With a thud, a dull pain rose in my back.
Why is everyone standing upside down?
“Hmm.”
Ah, so it was him.
That Old Man had thrown me away in one swift motion.
But to throw me so far that I couldn’t even see the ground—how is that even possible?
Without resolving any of my questions, he strode out beyond the tower.
Just then, the female mage ran up and squatted down beside me.
There was a faint, teasing smile on her face.
“That guy is an Intermediate Swordmaster.”
“What? Why are you telling me that now?”
“Because I didn’t expect you to rush at him.”
“Of course I’d cling on in that situation!”
“Count, have you ever been told you lack common sense?”
Wow, that’s a new kind of insult.
Who’s insulting whom now?
“Besides, if you’d known earlier, you wouldn’t have gotten to witness this fun spectacle.”
“Really malicious.”
“We have to find some fun in this tough life at the Magic Tower.”
“Enough of that, why is a guy like him even working as an herbalist?”
“Exactly.”
I really can’t understand the ways of the world.
“How do you suggest we talk to that Old Man?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t really talk much with us either. You use a sword, right? Since he’s a Swordmaster, just swing your sword at him outright.”
“Wouldn’t someone like him instantly counterattack and finish me off? Also, why does Glaysia have such a weird image of swordsmen in her head?”
I was being shown around the Library by Glaysia, the female mage who had introduced me to Sir Humboldt.
Of course, it wasn’t purely out of kindness; she said she needed to find some materials herself, so she was tagging along.
“This is the Library.”
“Thank you.”
“I’d have been really sulky if you hadn’t shown me around.”
“I don’t think that would have happened.”
“Really?”
“Not really sulky, just a bit disappointed. Disappointed.”
“Alright, then let’s say you were ‘Disappointed.’”
Talking with her, I realized Glaysia seemed bored enough to want to joke around even lightly.
Every word felt like a playful tease.
Not unpleasant, though.
“So, how do you feel seeing the Great Tallio Magic Tower’s Library?”
“Um… complicated.”
Honestly, that was a pretty softened impression.
This was by far the worst library I’d ever visited.
Apparently, the entire 7th floor of the tower was the Library, but it wasn’t very large.
There seemed to be around ten thousand books at a glance.
But the condition of those ten thousand books was a complete mess.
Books were randomly shelved both horizontally and vertically without any order, and piles of books were stacked on the floor.
Above all, there were scrolls stacked thickly on desks, and books scattered everywhere.
Some opened books were scribbled on with careless notes and doodles.
“We are researchers, not librarians who wrap and organize books, so it’s inevitable.”
Glaysia shrugged indifferently, pointing to one side of the bookshelf.
“Beginner Magic Books are probably… over there? Usually, it’s easy to find if you look there.”
“What if it’s not usual?”
“Then look closer to the desks. When writing papers or magic books, they leave references nearby after using them. Well, since basic magic theory books don’t get much use, that’s probably fine.”
Saying that, Glaysia started slowly scanning book spines from the far end of the shelf.
After a while, I saw six books stacked on her arm and looked away.
Good thing I didn’t go to graduate school.
This seems like a terrible life.
I walked over to the area she had gestured toward and began slowly reading the book titles.
Understanding Magic, Magic Theory, Write 1st Circle in 10 Days, Anyone Can Easily Start 1st Circle, Learn Circle 1 at Home, Let’s Play, Magic…
They all seemed like beginner magic books, but which one should I study?
Can I just pick any?
I grabbed the most neutral-sounding one, Learn Circle 1 at Home, and headed for a desk in a corner of the Library.
On the desk was a sharp, knife-like engraving, probably left by someone else, that read ‘Run away quickly.’
This place really lacks any respect for the place or books.
Maybe that’s why the Akashic Record gave no reaction.
I put those miscellaneous thoughts aside and opened the magic book.
Mages are definitely full of pretentious nonsense.
Learn Circle 1 at Home?
I can’t even understand half of what it’s saying.
How much time has passed?
I feel like I’ve stared at this book for about two hours but haven’t even read a fraction of it.
The terminology is all proper nouns, and explanations often skip over parts saying, ‘You all learned this when you were younger, right?’
Just how painful must a mage’s childhood be?
What am I supposed to do?
If 1st Circle magic is this hard, 4th or 5th Circle magic must be just as bad.
I need help…
I looked up and glanced around.
By chance, my eyes met Glaysia’s as she wandered between the shelves.
“Ah!”
“Hmm?”
Maybe she sensed something strange.
She flinched and tried to move away, but I grabbed her hand.
“Eek?!”
“Please help me!”
Unlike Sir Humboldt, Glaysia was a pure magic user.
So there was no way she could avoid my grasp.
I almost dragged the flustered Glaysia to the desk.
“Wait, can you let go and just talk? What are you going to do?”
When we reached the desk, I opened the book I had been reading and showed it to her.
“Please teach me this.”
“Why me?”
“I’ll make it up to you for being disappointed.”
“No, you can live your life always being ‘Disappointed’ for all I care.”
“I said I’ll make it up. This is a good opportunity.”
I know I’m being unreasonable, but I can’t help it. I’m desperate.
“Ah, really.”
Glaysia gave a truly annoyed look and sighed deeply.
“Just this once.”
“Thank you!”
And so, Glaysia’s special lecture began.
“Mana Road literally means the flow of mana, not just a ‘road.’ The ‘concentration’ and ‘control’ here refer to the sensation of shaping mana into a specific form.”
“So that’s how magic manifests—by molding mana into shapes with imagination?”
“Exactly.”
“But usually, mages all use similar spells, right? 1st Circle uses Mana Arrow, 3rd Circle uses Fireball. Does that mean these forms are standardized?”
“People’s imaginations seem infinite, but they can’t imagine something they’ve never seen. They compare it to what they’ve experienced.”
I’d heard this at the Academy.
For example, someone who’s never seen the sea can’t describe it.
But if they’ve seen a lake, they can say something like ‘a vast lake that seems to stretch endlessly.’
“That’s why the relationship with your master is important. They have to help you manifest magic until the image is firmly engraved in your mind.”
“Then how do people cast high Circle magic if they’ve never seen it? Oh, do they imagine the forms as those high Circle magic manifests?”
Glaysia’s eyes went wide.
“You’re the Steward of the Helpion Ducal Family, right? You’re definitely smart. I didn’t expect you to grasp it this quickly.”
Ah, hahaha.
That’s a little embarrassing.
“Do you plan on learning magic here at the Magic Tower?”
There was poison hidden in that compliment.
Crossed a line.
“No.”
Glaysia clicked her tongue with a hint of regret.
“Then why imitate magic at all?”
She blinked as if she didn’t understand what I meant.
“If magic is ultimately an imitation of nature, wouldn’t it be easier and stronger to imitate pure natural forms rather than imitating magic?”
“In theory, that’s correct. The only problem is the caster’s mana volume. For example, when imitating sunlight, we can’t define exactly where the sunlight starts and ends. So countless mages attempt many times to formulate the spell.”
Suddenly, my mind lit up as if a bright light shone inside it.
I found the way.
I didn’t need to use magic—I had to return to the most fundamental act of imitating nature itself.
At that moment, the universe spread out before my eyes.
The place I arrived at was a very small study.
So small that if I lay on the floor, it would be filled up completely.
The old-fashioned room had walls that looked like interwoven wooden planks, and it smelled musty, as if dust had settled everywhere.
In the center was a small table and a lone chair.
But this Akashic Record was strange.
No books of any kind were visible anywhere.
Was this some kind of case like a record coffin?
If I sat at that desk, would information flood into my head, or would doodles appear on the desk like with the old letters?
Since I had grown somewhat accustomed to these situations, I sat down without resistance.
As expected, yellowed sheets of paper began appearing one by one on the desk.
I picked up one of the sheets.
[Magic is manifestation.]
[Magic imitates the power of nature.]
[Strong magic adds human imagination on top of magic.]
These lines were exactly what I had thought during my conversation with Glaysia.
Could it be that my realization was being recorded directly into the Akashic Record?
Thinking that, I kept reading the sheets.
[What does it mean to imitate nature?]
[The sun naturally emits light, but I cannot emit light. What does it mean to emit light?]
[What does it mean to blow like the wind?]
[What does it mean to flow like water?]
[If mana is free, wouldn’t it be possible to freely use limited magic that was previously unusable because of mana constraints?]
Countless questions followed one after another, filling the pages.
Within just one or two seconds, the desk was covered with questions, and new sheets appeared endlessly.
Suddenly, my desk was buried beneath the sheets, which shot up like a fountain in all directions.
I stood there dazed, mesmerized by the sight.
Each question brushed past my eyes.
Soon, the entire old room was filled with papers, and in that sea of sheets, I…
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.