Wipe Your Nosebleed Before You Go!

Wanting to learn magic wasn't quite the right way to put it. More accurately, it was wanting to become a spellcaster.

That was no easy thing, because there were many kinds of spellcasters. Some possessed innate abilities, while others had spells bestowed upon them. Yet the most numerous kind of spellcaster still relied on their own efforts, mastering magical power step by step through study.

Such people were called mages.

And the reason it was difficult was that training a qualified mage took far too much time. To become a mage, one first had to be literate.

This plane had no compulsory education. Most people were illiterate. At the Adventurer Training School, only about one-third of Pei Renli's classmates could listen, speak, read, and write, so there were no textbooks or anything of the sort. Too few people could read them.

A one-third ratio was already considered high. Expanding the scope to the entire plane, over ninety percent of people were practically illiterate, at most able to spell their own names.

And literacy was merely the threshold. One also had to learn Elvish, Draconic, magical script, and more—at the very least, enough to read and write them all. Learning languages alone would consume a vast amount of time, not to mention memorizing and practicing incantations.

Magic in this world came in many forms. Categorized by principle, it could be divided into arcane magic, divine magic, psionic magic, contract magic, and so on.

Categorized by casting method, it could further be divided into model magic, rune magic, faerie magic, holy magic, summoning magic, spirit manipulation magic, and more. It was truly rather complex.

I do not know whether you, who are reading these notes, possess the same ability I do—to effortlessly understand any language or writing. As far as I know, it does not come from the Demon King System, so my choice may not suit you. If you too wish to walk the path of a spellcaster, I hope the above words will give you a basic understanding. Please choose carefully.

—Excerpt from Notes of Demon King Atlas

Training a qualified mage took far too long. Due to staffing limitations and practical concerns, the Adventurer Training School did not directly teach its students real magic. It mainly taught magical knowledge related to adventuring, with little actual practice.

But if one wanted to learn, the school had left open a path.

The school library contained magical materials collected from all over the world, including quite a few genuine spells. And though magic had many classifications, the school library had at least some holdings in each of them.

Of course, to a mage, spells were their most valuable treasures. Truly badass spells were every mage's prized possessions; there was no way they would casually hand them over.

Thus, not only were the library's spells relatively few in number, they were also low-level spells that could be bought on the market with money—spells that were extremely widespread.

But these practical low-level spells were perfect for beginners encountering magic for the first time. You couldn't have an elementary school student who had just learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division start learning calculus in the next lesson. For those wishing to walk the path of a spellcaster, the Adventurer School's collection was just right.

When Pei Renli had wandered around the school yesterday to familiarize himself with the place, he had seen the library and wanted badly to take a look inside.

Don't forget: one of his purposes for coming to the Adventurer School was to gather information about the plane he had found himself in. So far, his understanding of the multiverse was limited to the single small town of Naspar. His horizons were far too narrow.

But perhaps the library had not been ready yesterday, because its doors had been tightly shut. He could not enter even if he wanted to.

Today, though, with the teacher having run off in a highly irresponsible fashion, coupled with his burning desire to learn magic, Pei Renli ignored his aching muscles and hurried toward the library.

Fortunately, the library was finally open this time.

It was a three-story stone building without even a single window. If not for the sign hanging above its entrance, it looked more like a bunker, its sturdiness practically screaming at you.

With no windows, there was naturally no sunlight inside the library. But it seemed to have been enchanted. Spheres of light the size of volleyballs floated overhead, so it was not dark at all.

The library could be called the most expensive place in the Adventurer School, yet also the least visited, since not many people could read.

Pei Renli strode inside and followed the signs hanging overhead, checking one bookshelf after another. Without much effort, he found the section packed with spell materials.

Magic had many types. It could be categorized not only by principle and casting method, but also by spell type.

There were so many classifications because magic was an enormous field of study. Teaching oneself required not only a great deal of time, but was also extremely difficult.

Pei Renli was very interested in magic, but as far as magic went, it could not provide immediate help in a short time. Many others who also wanted to learn magic could spend all two years at the Adventurer School without managing to cast even the simplest spell.

Choosing this path was somewhat irrational. After all, the threat of the Demon King Arena could bring disaster crashing down on Pei Renli's head at any moment.

And once magic claimed a great deal of his time and energy, learning anything else would become even harder. Pei Renli had to be cautious—he did not have much room for error to casually test and fail.

However, Pei Renli had an advantage. He could effortlessly understand any writing, and conversing with anyone in any language posed no problem for him. He could even switch freely between them as naturally as breathing.

That was equivalent to skipping over the most difficult part of learning magic: languages. What was more, one casting method in magic was called rune magic.

It was the kind the teacher had demonstrated just now: combining runes of different meanings to produce different spell effects.

The Light spell was among the simplest. Its rune was simply a circle; it did not even matter whether the circle was round.

The defining trait of rune magic was that it was easy to learn but difficult to master. The more advanced the spell, the more complex the runes it required, and the more absurdly long those runes became.

For example.

The simplest Chinese character was "一," but Chinese also had characters like "biang," which could not even be typed on electronic devices.

In the fleeting, lightning-fast combat where battles were decided in an instant, not only did every character have to be correct, even the order of the strokes could not be wrong. That was why rune magic was said to be easy to learn but difficult to master.

His eyes swept over the thick books piled together, until at last he found one titled "Practical Rune Magic, Standard Spell Volume 1."

The very first page contained the Light spell the teacher had demonstrated earlier. Not only was the rune diagram more standardized, it also used long passages of text to explain its principles and composition.

The Adventurer School held three classes in the morning and one in the afternoon. After that, students could do whatever they wanted, so Pei Renli did not need to worry about missing class while hunkering down in the library.

Interest, together with the very real threat spurring him on, soon drew Pei Renli deeply into the book. By the time he rubbed his dry eyes, he had no idea how much time had passed.

Of course, merely reading was not enough—it was empty talk on paper. Magic still had to be mastered through unceasing practice.

Trying hard to recall the sensation from before, Pei Renli stared at the rune in the book and raised a finger, drawing an S-shaped symbol in the air.

A fine layer of spiritual radiance lit up at his fingertip. As though the air were a sheet of paper, it left behind a clearly visible rune.

The next moment, the rune twisted and vanished. A ball of light abruptly burst forth, like a miniature flashbang, making even Pei Renli himself struggle to open his eyes.

It worked!

The spell he had just tested was called Flash. Like Light, it was one of the most basic spells, its effect limited to producing a burst of light.

Yet the significance of its success went far beyond the spell itself. It meant Pei Renli had the aptitude to become a spellcaster.

Come to think of it, when he had registered for enrollment, his certificate had stated "Mana: C," which was a fairly decent rating. If he studied it properly and expanded on his strengths, that would be far more important at low levels than trying to make up for his weaknesses—and it would let him develop combat effectiveness faster.

This was clearly connected to the language ability he had brought with him across worlds. That ability had existed before the Demon King System activated, so it probably had nothing to do with the system. Though he still had absolutely no clue where his own abilities had come from, it was at least more reliable than that Demon King System that led people down crooked paths. It was worth trying.

"Your gestures should be more decisive. Don't hesitate."

Just as Pei Renli was secretly rejoicing and preparing to continue his research, a cool female voice interrupted him.

Looking up, he saw a fair-skinned but very slender girl standing before the table, staring at him with eyes as still and lifeless as a pool of stagnant water.

Pei Renli knew her. Her name was Eve, and she had been one of the few people in class who had successfully cast Light earlier.

Pei Renli knew Eve because of that gossip hound Koura. On the very first day, she had found out everyone's names and even shown off her findings to Pei Renli and the others.

What was more, during the fifteen-hundred-meter run that morning, Pei Renli had been the undisputed last-place finisher. Eve had come in second to last.

And the Adventurer School dormitories did not separate men and women. After all, they were all single rooms. Eve lived right next door to Pei Renli...

Though they had had quite a few chances to interact, this was the first time he had heard Eve speak. Before this, she had always seemed to be the sort who simply listened while others talked, rarely ever chiming in.

"Also, you can't use spells freely in the library. Be careful, or you'll get fined."

The title page of the book Pei Renli had been reading bore bright red words: "Experiments are forbidden in the library to prevent accidents." But he had been so caught up in the moment that he had completely forgotten about it.

"You know magic?"

Since she could offer advice, she probably did.

"A little. But I don't know how to teach others. I was only making a few suggestions."

With that, she turned and left. She was holding a book nearly as thick as a dictionary, probably there to borrow it as well.

But perhaps she had been put through the wringer by basic training just like Pei Renli, because as Eve headed out, she tripped over her own feet and hit the ground with a bang.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Brushing the dust from herself, Eve's expression remained unchanged. After leaving behind the words, "Learning magic is difficult. You should think it through," she gradually disappeared into the setting sun.

She looked pretty impressive, but Pei Renli still could not help chasing after her and shouting:

"Wipe your nosebleed before you go!"