Superman Learns Magic?

[Author's note: Something about these two chapters (24–25) feels off to me—the pacing and content aren't quite right. I'm rethinking them. The plot won't change much, but I may revise them. If I do, I'll make the changes tomorrow and let you know in tomorrow's update.]

At first, Lin Yi was having fun. Gradually, though, he noticed something was wrong.

If Magic had levels, Lin Yi could only cast low-level spells.

He could freely use simple defensive and offensive spells, but anything more advanced was beyond him, whether it was White Magic or Forbidden Magic.

He discovered this while testing a support spell with no offensive power. To be sure, he also tried Large-Scale Corrosion Magic again.

Everything went smoothly, including the construction of the magic circle. He only got stuck at the final step: releasing the spell.

No—after some investigation, Lin Yi found he could force a large-scale spell to activate, but its effects would be uncontrollable.

If he actually unleashed Large-Scale Corrosion Magic, for instance, he might be unable to stop it.

In the end, he still couldn't fully control it.

He simply wasn't strong enough. He was almost tempted to fly to the sun and soak up its rays for a few years, just to see if he could turn into Silver Superman or Gold Superman...

Forget it. I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the books!

Lin Yi continued reading the remaining books.

He unleashed his Super-Mind and, with the Ancient One's magic circle helping him, committed everything to memory, whether he understood it or not.

Once he had memorized the knowledge and spells, though, Lin Yi bundled them away, leaving only a small opening.

It was a decision he had reached after weighing the costs and benefits in Super-Mind mode.

So much knowledge and Forbidden Magic was a double-edged sword. His Super-Mind had concluded that he shouldn't grapple with such a vast, arcane body of knowledge at this stage.

It was like the phenomenon called the Overview Effect, which astronauts experienced when they looked directly at Blue Star from space.

Amid boundless darkness, Blue Star shrank to a tiny sphere, revealing its scale and fragility to the astronauts at a glance.

Borders and human conflicts that once seemed so important became minuscule on a cosmic scale.

That stark contrast could make people feel that humanity was nothing more than a speck of dust in the universe.

Super-Mind had a similar drawback. Excessive thought and too much forbidden knowledge would force Lin Yi to confront the most fundamental rules of human nature. He would dissect every behavior and reaction, probing the mechanisms underlying everything.

Given enough time, nothing would hold any interest for him. So Lin Yi chose to limit his Super-Mind to preserve his human capacity for joy, anger, and sorrow.

When his Super-Mind first emerged, Lin Yi had wondered why Superman in the movies almost never used his super-brain. It could be chalked up to how the character was written, but this side effect seemed more logical to Lin Yi.

Unless necessary, he would follow the Ancient One's advice and avoid using it lightly.

Those Forbidden Magic spells were a trump card—one Lin Yi couldn't currently control.

Bundling them away and letting the knowledge slowly trickle through the opening over time, until he thoroughly understood the spells and could control what happened after releasing them, was the gentlest and wisest choice.

He kept reading, learning, and bundling the knowledge away. Lin Yi's eyes began to grow vacant.

Time gradually lost all meaning. Lin Yi had no idea how long he had been reading. A day? A week? A month?

The green light of the Time Stone flowed steadily. To an outside observer, time in the space around Lin Yi had accelerated beyond what the naked eye could follow.

At last, the Time Stone's glow dimmed. Lin Yi lowered his hand from the final mass of information hovering before him, formed entirely of light and shadow.

Only after waiting a while did Lin Yi belatedly realize no new books were flying toward him.

I'm done?

Lin Yi slowly raised his head. His gaze was blank and unfocused, as though his soul remained immersed in that vast, ancient ocean of dazzling knowledge.

It took some time before he forced his mind free and focused on reality again.

Lin Yi let out a long breath and stood up.

In some of the books, he had found records concerning the Black-purple veins. They gave him an entirely new understanding of them.

The Black-purple veins were a manifestation of the Cosmic Virus, which came from an unknown dimension. The virus appeared in two different forms across the universe.

One was a colony of bacteria-like entities that devoured energy. Those who discovered it called it Dimensional Infestation. Its myriad symptoms included black-and-purple markings on the body.

The other form was a far more serious corruption of the soul. "Soul" did not mean a human soul here. The corruption manifested as the distortion and degradation of a universe's consciousness, affecting every living being within it.

No cure had been recorded for either form. They did, however, have one thing in common: once the virus appeared in a universe, that universe's countdown to destruction began.

All anyone could do was wait to perish with it.

As for the cosmic coordinates the Ancient One had mentioned, a book documenting the virus predicted that they pointed to the sole place where survival might be possible.

The ever-changing information surfaced in Lin Yi's mind, though he wasn't sure whether this was it. The coordinates were neither letters nor numbers, but shifting symbols that converged to point the way like a compass.

The information couldn't be memorized, yet it would continue to guide anyone who had seen it.

His goal accomplished, it was time to go home.

As soon as the thought arose, Lin Yi instinctively reached out and traced an arc before him.

Vhum...

Countless golden particles appeared out of thin air and gathered into a circular Portal. On the other side was the rooftop of the New York Sanctum.

Only after he stepped through and closed the Portal did Lin Yi realize something: had he just opened it without a Sling Ring?

The midday sun shone on him, bathing him in warmth like hot water.

The piercing alarms and explosions were gone, replaced by the bustle of a city rebuilding. The damaged buildings remained, but scaffolding had gone up and dust screens had been draped over many sites.

It looked as though less than a week had passed here.

"You're back? I didn't expect you so soon." The Ancient One's voice came from behind him. She had thought Lin Yi would need at least a week to return.

Lin Yi gave a startled "Huh?" and turned to cast her an aggrieved look.

"I didn't expect it either! I can't believe you didn't give me a way back!"

The Ancient One chuckled. "How did I not? You learned Teleportation Magic, didn't you?"

“And you didn't even need a Sling Ring...” The Ancient One's gaze fell on Lin Yi's empty hands.

Because of the special nature of Teleportation Magic, using it required a Sling Ring capable of opening a passage through space.

“What if I hadn't learned it? And why did getting there require a Teleportation Magic Circle, while coming back just took drawing a circle?" Lin Yi asked irritably.