Learning! The Limit of Magic!

The bookstore owner might have been physically frail.

But that did not in the slightest affect his professionalism when it came to selecting books.

In fact, being able to take over a bookstore in Hogsmeade Village was proof enough that while the owner might have lacked business acumen, he certainly possessed a pure love for books and knowledge.

The three textbooks he chose for Ian were perfectly suited for a beginner, progressing from simple to not-so-simple, allowing a novice to quickly cross the threshold of learning.

Magic Phonetic Table: This was a phonetic guide for Ancient Runes, containing the texts, meanings, and standard, correct pronunciations of Ancient Runes.

Simple Introduction to Ancient Runes: Just as the title suggested, once one learned how to read Ancient Runes, this was the right book to further one's understanding of the basics.

Advanced Rune Translation: This was likely a compilation of knowledge truly involving the application of Ancient Runes, allowing the learner to understand how to interpret texts composed in them.

Three textbooks that progressed in logical order.

They were enough to allow Ian to step across the threshold of learning Ancient Runes, one step at a time.

Of course.

Even with a reasonable learning path, the barrier to entry for knowledge like Ancient Runes was by no means low; it was indeed as the bookstore owner had said—most people found it difficult to master.

"Hiss! This is really hard!"

Ian clutched the Magic Phonetic Table, sitting in front of the window of his small wooden cabin.

Golden sunlight pierced through the sheer curtains.

It spilled into every corner of the room, draping the quiet space in a golden veil, yet it failed to lift Ian's somewhat gloomy mood.

He had been studying diligently for quite a while, but he still found it difficult to master even the simplest runic pronunciations, which meant that his personal status panel had yet to show a new skill.

How to put it.

It was truly difficult.

In fact, it was easy to understand why: if Ancient Runes weren't so complex and difficult to learn, why would they have been so quickly replaced by the spells of modern wizards as a medium for casting magic?

That was right.

Ancient Runes.

And modern spells like "Lumos" or "Obliviate."

They were all merely mediums for releasing magic.

The transition wizards made from choosing Ancient Runes as a medium to using easy-to-understand spells must have been a process of "survival of the fittest."

To be honest, the upper limit of Ancient Runes was actually far higher than that of modern spells, which was why many powerful wizards encountered them during their growth.

However.

This upper limit of Ancient Runes only opened its doors to the exceptional; for the mediocre, the lower limit offered by Ancient Runes was also shockingly low.

In ancient times.

Many young wizards died due to the instability of their magic.

Likewise.

There were many wizards who, like Ian now, remained trapped in the pre-entry stage for a long time, wasting their years away and reaching old age without being able to cast a single decent spell.

In the early years.

The fact that many witches and wizards were sent to the stake by ordinary people had a great deal to do with the fact that Ancient Runes were still the dominant magical medium of that era.

The emergence of spells.

Improved the learning curve for middle- and lower-class wizards.

This was the most important reason why spells replaced Ancient Runes.

After all.

They made up the largest portion of the wizarding population. Comparing Ancient Runes to modern spells was essentially like comparing an automatic car to a manual one.

"I hope the magic Mara gave me is a powerful and impressive one, otherwise this suffering will have been for nothing!" Ian's tongue was not particularly flexible.

Yet, Runes belonged to the earliest batch of creations, evolved from the characteristics of magical creatures and plants, and naturally contained many syllables that were difficult for human vocal cords to imitate.

This made Ian very uncomfortable.

However.

He did not give up on his studies.

And so, hard work eventually paid off.

[Successfully understood how to spell and read Runes, gained +1 proficiency in Rune Mastery]

Ancient Runes were hard to learn.

But fortunately, while Ian's talent might not have been the absolute best, he could certainly be counted among the elite, so he wouldn't end up wasting his life without learning a few runic characters.

After a bout of focused, all-out study.

He had gained something.

As Ian learned to decipher his first runic character, a new skill appeared on his personal panel, the "Epiphany" trait granted by the system beginning to take effect.

[Successfully understood and deciphered Runic, gained Runic Mastery +1]

[Language Mastery +12]

[Successfully understood and deciphered Runic, gained Runic Mastery +1]

[Successfully understood and deciphered Runic, gained Runic Mastery +1]

[Language Mastery +12]

Some things.

Once the first step is taken.

The rest becomes much simpler due to the existence of his cheat, or at least, this logic held very true for Ian; every increase in proficiency brought him new insights.

However.

Compared to the progress of other skills, the proficiency of [Runic Mastery] was clearly increasing much more slowly. Fortunately, learning these ancient magical scripts seemed to also boost his [Language Mastery] simultaneously.

The amount of the increase was quite significant.

It was likely related to the fact that ancient magical scripts were also a form of language—and the most difficult kind at that. The reason it appeared as a separate skill state was likely because it was more than just a language.

Ancient magical scripts.

The most common of which were ancient runes.

These were the secrets unearthed by human wizards from various magical creatures and plants when they first began exploring the mysteries of magic; they were the bridge through which human wizards first encountered and mastered magic.

Most ancient magic and ancient alchemy were created on this foundation. In the primitive era of the magical age, magical scripts were the best medium for carrying and releasing magic.

One could think of them as a special circuit; as magic power flowed along this circuit, it could form ancient magic that would seem quite alien to wizards of the present day.

By the same token.

When inscribed upon ancient alchemical creations, those creations would naturally be imbued with these properties, allowing ancient wizards to even capture time itself through their alchemical artifacts.

And with the evolution of magical scripts.

This medium of magic, which was extremely difficult to learn and could cause deviations or unstable disasters if one were not careful, began to decline due to two inventions born from the development of the era.

The first.

Was naturally the creation of the [Wand], that epoch-making "wheelchair" for wizards, designed to stabilize the release of magic, reduce the difficulty of learning, and minimize danger.

It was like a stabilizer for magic.

It made spellcasting significantly more stable and simple.

With the further development of the era.

The appearance of wand cores further increased the importance of the [Wand], adding other elements to the magic used by wizards, with each core possessing unique characteristics and effects.

Such a situation.

Increased the power of magic.

Likewise.

It also increased the danger of magic.

Various catastrophic magical accidents surged accordingly... and so, modern spells, simplified from ancient magical scripts, were born from the research of wizards to meet the needs of the times.

They simplified the circuits of magic power, which naturally greatly reduced the power of the magic; however, their ease of learning and safety made them the darlings of the era.

With the existence of the Ministry of Magic.

Most wizards had no need for overwhelmingly powerful magic, so, in truth, spells that were not exactly lacking in self-defense capabilities gradually replaced the role of magical scripts.

Of course.

For those wizards pursuing higher magical attainments, the study and application of runes remained an unavoidable journey, though what was once the pillar of the magical world had ultimately become a carnival for the exceptionally gifted few.

No one could say for sure whether this was good or bad.

Nor could anyone say for sure whether, as the era progressed, modern spells might eventually follow the same path as ancient magical scripts. Perhaps some history was already in motion without anyone noticing.

After all.

Change always begins in silence.