A Spirit in the Book

Dean's magic book was so large he needed both hands to move it. It wasn't heavy, but its sheer size made it awkward to carry.

On the table, the book measured about forty centimeters long and sixty wide. Most astonishingly, it was forty centimeters thick too. With a book this big, he needed to learn the Magic Runes for making storage items as soon as possible!

But Dean wondered: even if he managed to open the magic book, he couldn't carry something this big around all the time. Surely not every one of its previous owners had possessed a storage item.

And just like that, Dean's thoughts wandered farther and farther afield. He couldn't focus on why the magic book wouldn't open. If his mentor hadn't ordered him to solve the puzzle before their meeting tomorrow, Dean wouldn't have bothered thinking about it.

Wouldn't it be better to lie in bed and have a lovely sleep?

Unfortunately, Dean couldn't defy his mentor Sanderson's orders. Besides, this was for his own good.

Damn it. If it's for my own good, why make things so hard for me? Dean almost wanted Lamore to whack him unconscious. Then he'd have an excuse when he faced his mentor tomorrow.

Dean studied the magic book. That metallic sheen, those intricate patterns—it looked quite old. According to his mentor, it was a Magic-Forged Weapon. Dean didn't understand. He truly didn't.

Weapons fell into two categories: ordinary weapons and Magic Artifacts, also called Magic Weapons. Ordinary weapons had three grades: Iron-Forged Weapons, Military-Grade Weapons, and Magic-Forged Weapons. Above those were Magic Artifacts, divided into low and high levels.

The first two grades were used by ordinary people without battle energy or magic power. Starting with Magic-Forged Weapons, battle energy or magic power was needed to use them. Kana's new bow, Yanxi's inner armor, and Lamore's staff were all Magic-Forged Weapons. Dean's little wand barely qualified too, though it was the worst of the grade.

This book was Magic-Forged as well, but it already had one foot in the Low-Level Magic Artifact category. After passing through who knew how many owners, it seemed close to developing a consciousness of its own, just like the Goblin Scepter.

Sanderson hoped it would gain consciousness during Dean's time and gradually grow into a Low-Level Magic Artifact. That was why he had chosen it for Dean.

Of course, the Adventurers' Guild did have Magic Artifacts. They were simply so precious that Chairman Rukta would never part with one. Sanderson had known better than to ask and had settled for this magic book instead.

"If it's a Magic-Forged Weapon, why can't I put magic power into it? Could Lamore be right that it's rejecting my magic power?" Dean muttered. He tried again, this time pouring in fifty points of magic power.

That was more than half his total magic power, squandered in less than a minute. Yet just as before, not a trace entered the book. Dean's face darkened.

"Don't tell me this thing wants all my magic power." A chill ran through Dean. Some peculiar Magic Artifacts demanded every last drop of their owner's magic power to activate. Was this one of them?

Losing all one's magic power felt worse than going three days without water. The thought made Dean's scalp prickle. No. He would find another way. He promptly abandoned the idea.

Because he only wanted to know how to use the magic book, the Infinite Eye ignored the question. No matter how close Dean brought his consciousness to the Infinite Eye, he received nothing.

If you picked up a cup to drink water, would you ask me how to do that too? That seemed to be the Infinite Eye's view. He couldn't count on it!

The more Dean thought, the more irritated he became. If only a single thought could make the book open on its own. Then he wouldn't have to rack his brains for a solution.

He shook his head, then inspiration struck. How had he not thought of it? Mages couldn't be judged by the same rules as warriors, assassins, or Priests. And what did a Mage need most?

Mental strength. That was it. Only powerful mental strength could control each spell, and some long-range spells demanded even more of it. Every Mage possessed formidable mental strength.

Some high-level Mages even had mental strength powerful enough to leave their bodies and survive on mental strength alone.

Dean might only be a Level-One Magic Apprentice, but his mental strength had already reached the peak of level one. It was strong even among Level-One Magic Apprentices. In fact, his mental strength surpassed Kana's, Yanxi's, and Lamore's combined.

Lamore needed decent mental strength as a Priest too, but it couldn't compare with a Mage's.

Let's try it. Dean sent his mental strength into the magic book, a wisp at first, then more and more. None leaked out the other side. It looked like mental strength really was the key to opening it!

Just as Dean reached that conclusion, the book began drawing in his mental strength. He was only a Level-One Magic Apprentice. Even at the peak of level one, he couldn't withstand a Magic-Forged book draining him like this.

Five seconds later, Dean lost consciousness—whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, he couldn't have said. More precisely, he fell into a deep sleep, his body using it to replenish his nearly exhausted mental strength.

Once Dean had fallen asleep, a tiny triangle appeared in the upper-left corner of the book's cover, as though its requirements had been met. It was the imprint of Dean's mental strength.

"Yawn... Where am I? Wait... I think I have a new owner again? Looks like he's only a level-one apprentice. Hmm... Never mind. He's not qualified to meet me yet!" A soft, drowsy voice sounded, though no one heard it. An illusory figure appeared above the magic book.

The figure seemed to have slept for a long time, waking only after Dean became the book's owner. And by the sound of it... the figure looked down on him.

To be fair, Dean was weak. Merely opening a Magic-Forged book had nearly exhausted his mental strength.

For a long time afterward, Dean believed it was nothing more than a Magic-Forged book. He even considered replacing it with a wand that was a Low-Level Magic Artifact.

Yet this book already possessed a complete consciousness. Apart from its first owner, every owner it had ever had seemed to have believed it was merely a Magic-Forged book.

Whether Dean would discover its true quality remained to be seen. The book's consciousness, at least, believed it would lose its owner and fall asleep again before long, just as it had in the past.

"Huh? This owner seems a little different." The consciousness briefly examined Dean, intending to check for any lingering harm. Instead, it discovered a few interesting things.

"Good stuff. This owner is rather special!" the consciousness murmured. "Perhaps I'll get to show what I can do before long!" Then it retreated into the magic book.

To an ordinary person, "before long" might mean days or months. To the consciousness, it could mean years—even decades!