Core Knowledge (Part 2)

"Observe, understand, control, then manipulate. My student, once your mastery of the arcane reaches the level of a master, you will discover that the world holds no secrets from us, so long as you are willing to explore it." Without waiting for Shane's reply, his mentor handed him a badge. "Take this badge and study in the library. From now on, your future development will depend entirely on your own understanding."

"Thank you, Mentor."

He accepted the bottle-cap-sized badge, which bore the cast image of Dawnblade. It constantly emitted magical fluctuations, and when he sensed it with his mind, he found a magical coordinate within.

The tower library was on the fifth floor. The instant Shane stepped into the library with the badge in hand, he felt himself being folded once more. This library was not the same place he had seen as an apprentice.

The space was only several dozen square meters, enclosed by golden walls. At its center stood statues of three elven mages, their six hands holding a spellbook high overhead. The material appeared to be gold. They gazed up at the book, their faces filled with joy and pride.

The book was about one square meter in size and heavy in his hands, nearly as heavy as Sylvanas. The moment it touched him, arcane energy activated. Golden light flashed through the gap between his palm and the book, while an incredibly thin stream of mana was drawn into it.

When he removed the spellbook, the three statues melted and transformed into a desk and chair, inviting Shane to sit. Without much hesitation, Shane sat down and placed the book on the desk. Another change followed. The desk and chair rose together, lifting him three or four meters into the air. After waiting for a while and seeing no further changes, he turned his gaze to the book.

At the most prominent spot on the golden cover, elven words had been engraved:

'The arcane can explain all things. It is the ideal of an arcanist, the authority of an arcanist, and the original sin of an arcanist.'

Shane gently traced the words with his fingers. A heavy sense of history passed through his fingertips, and he could feel the will and pride of the arcanists.

Compared to that passage, the title was written along the side: <Highborne Wisdom Scroll—Conjuration School Advanced Arcane Theory and Practical Applications: The World Holds No Secrets in Our Eyes>

When he opened the book, the pages were likewise inscribed with tiny elven words, smaller than grains of rice. Just as he was about to make out the first character, golden light rose from the pages. The words leaped out one by one in strings, projecting into the air. Row upon row, string after string, they densely covered the ceiling.

"So it absorbed my mana to activate the projection spell."

At that moment, the magical lamps went out. The projected words formed a hemispherical shape, and Shane stood within a three-dimensional illusion, raising his head to search for the first word.

"General Section: <Methods of Spatial Observation and Basic Understanding>

Every mage who advances to the sixth circle can perceive the enormous difference between the world's true appearance and what the eyes see. The world we inhabit is filled with all manner of passages leading to unknown realms. Within this boundless universe, apart from the place where we live, there are countless spaces and worlds. Mediocre people who know nothing of magic naturally need not concern themselves with those places. The chance of them ever encountering things from other dimensions in their lives is practically zero. But as a learned mage, if one cannot communicate with other planes, then one is not a qualified mage.

The Conjuration School was founded for this purpose..."

Every passage and every sentence was knowledge; every explanation and every insight was wisdom.

Shane absorbed it with utter fascination. The first section, Bubble Theory, regarded the macroscopic world of Azeroth as a bubble. And it was absolutely not the only bubble. Countless bubbles floated around or clung to Azeroth. The book's purpose was to teach arcanists what space was, how to alter it, and why it changed. It further branched into sections on how to find bubbles, observe bubbles, move bubbles, modify bubbles, and forcibly break apart bubbles.

Page after page turned. The accumulated thickness had long surpassed the book's apparent thickness, and Shane realized that space inside the book had been layered upon itself, allowing it to hold far more than was physically possible. Yet his hand could not stop. Knowledge was too wondrous. Within the library, he could not sense the passage of time, nor did he know how much of the book remained.

"Moving bubbles: the mind is a chain. One must not only open a passage, but also pull it along. If one lacks sufficient strength, the mind will break. Mages usually fall into a deep coma or become lost in outer space... Every arcanist must remember to act within their limits."

After finishing the last page of <Cultivate Your Taste, Build a Space That Belongs to You>, Shane eagerly wanted to see what came next. He reached out to turn the page, but touched nothing, even though the page was right before his eyes.

"What's going on?" Shane came back to himself. In an instant, immense exhaustion struck his entire body. His head felt swollen too, as though he had not slept for a week.

"Whew, so I'm this tired." He let out a long breath and discovered that his mana was nearly exhausted. "It should be to protect readers. The author must have set a reading limit."

He leaned back in the chair and meditated to recover, but the seat gradually descended until it lowered Shane back to the ground. The restored statues lifted the book once again.

"Is it not letting me read anymore?" As he thought that, Shane found himself being pulled away. He was flattened as if folded, then pushed out of the space, his vision filling with purple and black.

He staggered two steps before steadying himself. As his vision returned, he found himself standing at the entrance to the library in normal space, where passing apprentices constantly saluted and bowed to him.

"Shane, come here." His mentor's voice sounded beside his ear.

Using the last of his mana, Shane teleported. Arcane radiance flooded over his body from his feet to his head as he actively passed through the folded plane and teleported to the seventh floor. He applied the theoretical knowledge taught by the book to the Blink spell, transforming it into a spell that teleported him to the location fixed by his mind.

He stepped out of the arcane radiance. Arcane Blaze dripped from his hair and went out, while his mana was completely depleted.

"Shane, it seems you have already learned part of the core knowledge. Very good. At first, I thought ten days would be your limit, but you gave me the pleasant surprise of fifteen days." As his mentor spoke, his gaze focused on the distance, passing through Shane's body and even through the tower. Only after a long while did he come back to himself. "When one grows old, it is easy to lose oneself in memories. Shane, you are my pride."

"Thank you, Mentor." Only then did Shane notice that his mentor no longer looked at him as he would an apprentice, but as he would an arcane spellcaster—with equal appreciation.

"Can you understand the true power of the Conjuration School?"

"The world holds no secrets in our eyes," Shane replied.

"Ah~~ You have reached this point as well... I have fallen into memories again. Shane, what I wish to say is that you still lack the proof of a master. Go and gain experience. Go and refine yourself. Prove that you are a master beyond question. Then return to the tower and read our core knowledge once more. Shane, let me call you this one last time: my student. You are my pride."

"Thank you once again. You will always be my mentor." Shane gave his mentor a deep bow.

"Do not hurry back to the Ghostlands. Stay in Silvermoon City for two days. The council has matters that require your contribution."

Our education is to extract the educable parts of the elves, grant them the most advanced education, and impart to them the most core knowledge. This allows them to grow, stand out, become the backbone of the elves, and continue our race.

"It is your turn, Shane."