Ian took Loki to an empty room. "First, you need to choose a path or specialty."
"What do you mean?"
"You have a long life and enough time to study many subjects. However, it is in your best interest to choose one subject as your main research direction."
"What is your expertise?"
"Time, Death, and Elemental Magic."
"Can I choose these?"
"Yes, but I suggest you not to do this," Ian replied. "The best path for you is Genjutsu and frost magic."
"Can I choose thunder magic?"
"If you want."
"Okay, I choose Thunder and Lightning." Loki saw Ian's face and said quickly, "Okay, I was just joking. I choose Genjutsu."
"Are you sure?" Ian looked calm, even expressionless. "Like I said, denying the most basic part of yourself is not a solution to the problem."
"I've made my choice."
"It seems you need to start your psychotherapy as soon as possible," Ian commented, and before Loki could react, he put a watch on him.
"What is this?"
"It will connect you to the virtual psychiatrist I mentioned. And, before you do anything stupid, warn you, it's programmed to punish you if you try to take it off or miss a session."
"Punishment? What kind of punishment?" When these words blurted out instinctively, Loki immediately felt a pang of regret, and his intuition was correct. The watch released a strong electric current, which made him twitch on the ground.
"Damn, this is terrible," Loki gasped. This process only lasted ten seconds, and because of his brother, he was used to electric shocks, but this time it felt particularly bad.
"You don't have to do this."
"But I just did it. Otherwise, how could you learn your lesson?" Ian calmly waved his hand and summoned Gate of Truth.
"What is this?" For some reason, Loki had an instinctive respect for this door.
"You will know later." The gate was activated, thus changing the surrounding environment. They found themselves in a seemingly endless giant Grand Library. Ian led the shocked Loki to an area. "This is the Genjutsu entry area. You have three days. Read as many points as possible."
Ian turned around and left, leaving Loki with a confused look. After hesitating for a moment, God of Mischief picked up a book and started reading. He was immediately immersed in the content of the book.
Now that Loki has settled down, Ian originally planned to continue his work because he would be busy with personal research soon, but after sensing something, he changed his direction.
"You're back."
"Yes. Sanctums of Antarctica has been completed, and I am preparing to go to Lagos. However, I want to check the situation before leaving," The Ancient One replied.
"Is it okay?"
"Not yet." The Ancient One nodded. "What about you? How was your trip?"
"Odin is completely on board."
"This explains why he sent all his sons to the earth." The Ancient One did not doubt Ian's ability to persuade Odin, but she thought the old man would have more concerns.
"What about other worlds?"
"I have made friends with the Dwarvess, but they don't completely trust me. So, this matter is still progressing. I have not visited other worlds because I don't want Odin to doubt me and feel that I am trying to poach his allies."
"This is a wise choice." The Ancient One knows how easily those in power can become suspicious of others.
"What about the other forces in the universe? Have you decided how to deal with them?"
"Not yet. I know I will use Nova Empire in some ways, but my plan needs some fine-tuning. Also, I will focus on the earth first before expanding outward."
"Okay, if you need my help, just ask." The two drank tea and chatted for a while, and then separated.
Three days later, Ian walked into the room, and Loki was sitting among a small pile of books reading. Obviously, he had not slept for the past three days, but for his physique, this was nothing.
"Time's up." The Library disappeared, and they returned to the empty room before.
"No, no, I'll finish reading it right away."
"Three days have come."
"I only need one more hour to finish reading that book. As long as you give me three months, I can finish reading all the books in this area."
"I said three days, so you only have three days."
Loki gritted his teeth, realizing that this man would not give in.
"Don't be like this. Kamar-Taj's mage must pay to enter my the Library. Considering your identity, I have already let you watch it for free for three days."
"Pay? How much do you want? I will give you as much gold as you want, as long as you let me read it."
"Do you think I am the kind of person who is short of money?" Ian waved his hand and formed a golden ball, and then let it dissipate.
"How should I continue reading?"
"Equivalent Exchange's Law. You want my knowledge in exchange for yours," Ian explained. "Unfortunately for you, your mother has traded Asgard's primary the Library and her personal knowledge in exchange for access, so you can't use that anymore."
Loki wants to curse.
"So, you have to perform dangerous tasks like other mages to earn points, which can be exchanged for books or reading time."
Loki sighed secretly, realizing how bad his life in Midgard would become.
"Now, let's focus on the task at hand. What do you think of these three days of reading? Summarize it succinctly."
"Organized, clear and systematic," Loki replied without hesitation.
"Tell me more about it."
"I have read magic books from different cultures and regions, but I despise them because most people regard magic as a mysterious force rather than as a science with clear logical rules like Asgard. However, your book is even more systematic than ours.
"Obviously, this is not the work of one person, but the result of countless Genjutsu mages who have spent many years researching and sorting out their findings. There is even a book that details a person's Genjutsu level."
The contents of these books did not fundamentally change Loki's views and understanding of Illusion Magic. However, they made him realize that his basic knowledge in this field was not as solid as he imagined. There were some things that he knew intuitively, but did not understand, or even if he did understand, it was not enough to teach others.
The first book made him aware of this, and because it was easy to digest--with exercises and such--he was immediately hooked. So, after reading a few books, he became somewhat confident--until he read a book called <Illusion Magic Roadmap>.
This book explains how Illusion Magic is divided into five skill levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and Mastery.
The book included a test used to determine individual skill levels, and Loki was shocked to find that he was only at the "intermediate" level - not even advanced. Another fact that shocked him was that the book suggested that some Magic Domain had developed to levels beyond "mastery."
Not trusting the information, he looked up the requirements for higher skill levels, and found that they made sense to him - especially since the book also included a video of someone using an advanced Genjutsu, and that person reminded him of his mother. Sadly, he could only view the video at a skill level one level above his own.
"You are right," Ian admitted. He had only dabbled in Illusion Magic, and the only time Ichika studied it was when he was building the virtual reality world of Skynet or Empire.
"What's your skill level?"
Loki suddenly felt embarrassed. "Intermediate level."
"That's almost right, and you're probably still in the middle of this skill level," Ian nodded.
Loki almost blushed, but he quickly asked, "Can you tell me what the skill level is beyond mastery?"
"After that came Limit Level and Conceptual Level. However, on my home planet, I am the only one who has reached the Conceptual Level skill."
"I can probably understand the concept of reaching the limit of skills, but what is the Conceptual Level skill?"
"That is when you can control your field from the origin of the field, or the most basic rules that constitute reality."
"Is this possible?"
"Yes."
Loki was silent for a moment, and then muttered, "Can I reach this level one day?"
"You can, and it's not as impossible as you think. If your knowledge and skills reach the level of mastery, and you meet the Willpower requirements, you can jump to Conceptual Level. However, if not, you can only continue to polish your craft to reach Limit Level, because you cannot observe or control the laws of the universe.
"Well, unless you become a believer in God, but if you choose that path, I will kill you with my own hands."
'Wow, where does such sudden hostility come from,' Loki thought with a shudder. He quickly expelled this feeling from his body. "What do you mean by willpower?"
"That's not something you should worry about with your current skill level. Now, follow me for the next part of your training."