Ennoblement

Mutual exchange, sharing what one had and supplying what the other lacked—this was the most primitive and direct way for wizards to communicate.

Though the other side consisted of two eighth-rankers and a seventh-ranker, placing immense mental pressure on Dole, knowledge was not divided by strength. Before knowledge, everyone was equal. In unfamiliar fields, everyone was an elementary student.

Vasili stared at Dole's magic patterns, his mental power constantly at work—learning, analyzing the functions of the patterns, their energy levels, what they were suited for, and what they could be used to accomplish. For a time, his mental power whirred at high speed.

The other two were the same, though their individual abilities became apparent here. As president, Vasili possessed immense mental power and found the analysis effortless. Magic Old Man was the same, with profound attainments; the moment the magic patterns appeared, he began analyzing them. Usbur, however, fell somewhat short, scratching his ears and cheeks in frustration.

Dole, meanwhile, split his mental power into two parts. One part imprinted the magic patterns, while the other studied them. His immense mental power astonished Usbur beside him, and the fact that he was doing two things at once, using one mind for two purposes, was what shocked them most.

Dole imprinted the magic patterns very quickly, taking less than an hour. Then the four of them each studied the patterns tirelessly.

Learning new magic patterns required one to ponder many things, but it was much easier when standing on the shoulders of predecessors. With the experience left behind by so many before them, one merely had to follow their memories.

Though the book was quite thick, Dole finished reading it in just over an hour. Next came the careful contemplation, taking mastery of it into his own hands. With so