Understanding Magic! The Nature of the Panel!

The moon hung high in the sky.

It shone upon Hogwarts' ancient castle.

It also shone upon the peaceful village of Hogsmeade.

"Lumos!"

A bright glow dispelled the darkness inside the cabin, illuminating its rather minimalist furnishings. Even the tiny spiders on the Spider Webs in the corners became clearly visible.

Another attempt at casting magic. Another round of practice.

Only—

This time.

After the light appeared, it did not fade away as it had before. Through repeated practice and repeated increases in proficiency, Ian had finally gained a basic understanding of the essence of this beginner-level wizarding spell—the light shining from the tip of his wand was not the radiance of the sun, but the manifestation of the Light of Mind within a wizard's heart.

Yes.

That was the essence of the Lumos Charm.

At least.

It was the shallow essence Ian had grasped so far.

"What a world ruled by the mind."

Even though he had prepared himself for magic's lack of scientific logic, once Ian had truly encountered and learned his first spell, he could not help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

All magic.

Came from the wizard himself.

From the power of "belief."

Ian had heard that explanation of magic before. Now, the little bit of shallow essence he had comprehended happened to feel extremely similar to that explanation.

Perhaps.

Once Ian had learned enough magic and raised his magical level high enough, he would be able to truly uncover the secret of magic's birth and solve the curiosity people had held about the origins of magic for so many years.

"But if I want to reach that point, I still have a long road ahead of me." Ian felt a little lightheaded at the moment, which could probably be attributed to the consumption of magic.

Of course.

In truth, Ian did not feel any clear sense of overdraft or depletion. The magic within his body had not diminished at all. It was more like the exhaustion that came after staying up for too long.

Clearly.

A wizard's magical exhaustion was not like a video game's clearly defined increase and decrease in "mana points." Calling it magical "fatigue" was actually more fitting.

It was like the weakening of some sort of vitality. It needed time and rest before it could become full of life again. Well, it was pretty much like physical stamina recovering after rest following exercise.

"Fortunately, I've already learned the Lumos Charm. It's getting late, so after tidying up, I need to hurry and get some sleep." This feeling of having stayed up all night was actually a good thing for Ian.

Otherwise.

Given everything that had happened today, along with the excitement of coming into contact with magic, getting enough sleep would not have been easy—just like Children encountering a game console for the first time.

The sensation of magical "fatigue" completely replaced the effect of a sleeping pill. The bed in the bedroom was exceptionally neat and carried the faint, distinctive fragrance of lavender.

It had clearly been changed not long ago, saving Ian the trouble of making the bed. After taking a quick bath, Ian covered himself with the blanket and lay down.

Outside.

The sound of the flowing stream mingled with the croaking of frogs. Although Ian felt weary from magical exhaustion, he still could not help checking his panel again.

The feeling.

Was as childish as being afraid that the magic he had learned might quietly disappear again.

Name: Ian Prince

Class: Bloodline Sorcerer

Magic: Level 4

Skills: Lumos Charm (Level 1): 1/100

Language Mastery (Level 4): 743/800

Biology Dissection (Level 5): 69/1600

Free Fighting (Level 3): 86/400

Psychology (Level 6): 84/3200

Psychology Extraordinary Trait: Mind Perception

Biology Dissection Extraordinary Trait: Butcher's Instinct

The Lumos Charm had successfully reached Level 1.

He had moved a little closer to awakening an Extraordinary Trait.

Magic at only Level 4 might not count as outstanding talent, but Ian did not feel the slightest bit discouraged or disappointed. As Young Wizards grew older, their magic generally increased greatly.

Magic was not the issue.

A wizard's excellence depended on the learning and application of magic.

"Come to think of it, Old Dumbledore, the wand seller, wasn't wrong. I'm definitely going to be an exceptional wizard." Ian could not help feeling a little smug.

That was indeed the truth.

With such a powerful cheat that offered such strong support, learning every kind of magic would become much easier for Ian. After all, every increase in skill proficiency brought him new insights.

And a level increase like the Lumos Charm's rise from 0 to 1 allowed Ian to experience a marvelous Epiphany, as though something that had once been distant and hazy could now be reached out and touched.

That was, of course, an utterly heaven-defying ability.

It was also a... talent? One that countless wizards would never even dare dream of.

Perhaps when other wizards mastered a spell, they merely followed the descriptions in textbooks and copied the process that their predecessors had summarized through experience.

However.

Ian's way of comprehending and learning magic differed from that method.

After every attempt.

Ian gained a little more understanding of the magic contained behind the spell. Strictly speaking, what he learned was not the spell itself, but the magic behind it.

That was what truly set Ian apart.

He was learning magic.

Most wizards, even adult wizards, only learned the "spell."

Take the Lumos Charm, for example.

Even after graduation, most wizards would probably still only use and understand this beginner-level spell for first-year students by continuing to rely on the experience of those before them.

That was why Wandless Casting was little more than empty talk to most wizards.

Incantations were shortcuts.

As long as a wizard spoke the corresponding incantation, they could trigger the magic linked to that shortcut. Over time, they would naturally develop an inescapable dependence on such shortcuts.

But to cast magic without a wand.

One had to understand the magical essence contained within a spell.

Perhaps many years ago.

Many wizards still sought and explored the true nature of magic. But after the development of the present age, it was clearly not only so-called Muggles whose hearts had become impatient and restless.

Just as Muggles stopped using letters once they had telephones, once wizards possessed a means of using magic easily, most of them naturally abandoned tedious and difficult research.

Only a small number of people ever explored the truth.

Magic was naturally the same.

"I wonder what level of insight I'll need before I can cast a spell without a wand..." Filled with anticipation for the future, Ian slowly drifted off to sleep.

Tonight.

He did not choose Dream Control.

So.

His bizarre and fantastical dreams were far more vivid than usual.