Inside the grand hall, snowflakes danced wildly in the air.
In less than ten seconds, the heavy snow was already knee-deep.
The biting cold seeped into everyone’s bones, turning their faces completely pale.
They stared up at the miraculous sight, frost already gathering on their eyelashes, the freezing air burning their throats.
“Is this real magic?
This is basically the power of God!” “It’s so beautiful and cold…
inside a library!” “Mom, I’m freezing, but it’s so pretty!” “If I tell my friends about this, they’re going to lose their minds!” Even though they were shivering uncontrollably, not a single tourist tried to leave.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
Flash!
Suddenly, a camera flash went off, snapping the crowd out of their trance.
People frantically pulled out their phones and cameras, their freezing hands fumbling to press the shutter buttons.
“Hey!
Look over here!” A deep, magnetic voice suddenly commanded the room’s attention.
The Cloak of Levitation carried Stephen high into the air.
He extended his right hand and snapped his fingers.
A blinding flash of white light erupted from his fingertips, illuminating the entire library.
The moment the tourists saw the light, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed limply into the snow.
The only ones left standing were Holden and the Sanctum sorcerers.
“What are you doing?
Silencing the witnesses?” Holden teased, admiring his winter wonderland before glancing up at the hovering sorcerer.
“Relax, it’s just a minor sleeping spell.” Stephen looked down at him.
“Let them sleep.
When they wake up, they’ll just think it was all a crazy dream.” “Oh, good.
For a second there, I thought you were so jealous of my talent you were going to murder everyone to keep it a secret.” Holden knew exactly what kind of person Stephen was; he wasn’t genuinely worried.
Stephen’s face instantly darkened, clearly having struck a nerve.
“Jealous?
Of you?” he gritted out.
“This is just child’s play.
You still have a long way to go, kid!” “Alright, Stephen, cut the act!” Wong interrupted impatiently, eyeing Holden with intense suspicion.
“Who are you?” Even though this young man was undeniably a magical prodigy, Wong wasn’t about to drop his guard until he knew exactly what he was dealing with.
“Me?” Holden turned his back to them, casually sliding the spellbook back onto the shelf.
“I’m Holden.
Just an ordinary guy.” [Ding!
You have successfully learned your first magic spell!] [Reward received: Chthon’s Scroll (Fragment)!] ‘Wait, Chthon’s Scroll?
Isn’t that the precursor to the Darkhold?!’ Holden definitely hadn’t expected a drop like this.
“An ordinary guy?” Wong scoffed.
“You mean a billionaire businessman?
A world-class mountaineer?
A champion marksman?” “Wow, as expected of a Master of the Mystic Arts.
You saw through my identity that quickly with your magical foresight…” Holden turned around, ready to compliment Wong, but his words died in his throat.
Wong was holding a smartphone, deadpan reading Holden’s Wikipedia page.
‘Seriously?
A mystical sorcerer using Google?
Is that really necessary?’ Holden thought, baffled.
Wong looked up, catching Holden’s bewildered expression, and chuckled.
“I thought I recognized you from the news.” “Yeah, that’s me…” Holden nodded slowly, recovering his composure as Wong pocketed the phone.
Back when he first got the system, he had tried every extreme sport and high-adrenaline activity imaginable—wingsuit flying included—just to farm surprise rewards.
Listening to their conversation, the corner of Stephen’s mouth twitched.
The endless list of insane titles was giving him a headache.
First, he got completely outclassed in magical talent, and now it turned out the kid’s real-life resume was leaps and bounds cooler than his own!
“Ahem…” Stephen coughed into his fist, slowly descending to the floor.
“You’re undeniably gifted.
But magic isn’t as simple as you think.” Wong immediately saw through Stephen’s desperate attempt to look cool and wisely took a step back, staying quiet.
“Is it really that hard?” Holden asked, looking at Stephen with a half-smile.
Ignoring the subtle mockery, Stephen clasped his hands behind his back and spoke with sagely calm.
“Indeed.
To become a truly great sorcerer, you must have an exceptional guide.” With a casual wave of his right hand, a gentle breeze swept through the library.
The wind picked up the thick blanket of snow, swirling it into the air like a shimmering curtain of silver silk.
As the snow spiraled upward, it rapidly dissolved into nothingness.
In the blink of an eye, the raging blizzard and all the accumulated snow completely vanished.
Having cleared the room, Stephen smoothly returned his hands to his back, lifting his chin just a fraction higher.
It had to be said, the move was an absolute flex.
But Holden simply gave a slow nod and offered a single, flat syllable: “Oh.” Still, he had to give the man some credit.
Stephen truly lived up to his reputation as the future Sorcerer Supreme; he definitely had some serious skills.
“Are you…
hoping I’ll be your guide?” Stephen nearly lost his composure at the completely underwhelming response.
‘Seriously?
I just pulled off a god-tier magical flex, and all you have to say is ‘oh’?!’ “Nope.
I’ve got things to do, so I’ll be taking off,” Holden said, shaking his head.
He had just acquired a fragment of Chthon’s Scroll and needed to head back to study it properly.
After all, that artifact was on the exact same level as the Sorcerer Supreme’s Book of Vishanti.
“What?!” Stephen’s brain short-circuited.
This was absolutely not how he pictured this playing out.
Wasn’t this the part where the kid dropped to his knees and begged to be his apprentice?
Yet Holden was actually turning around and walking toward the exit.
“Wait, don’t go!” Stephen blurted out, a hint of desperation bleeding into his voice.
“Are you seriously passing up the chance to study magic under my wing?” This kid was a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy!
If he walked out that door now, it would be a colossal waste!
“I’ll pass,” Holden replied without a second thought.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone what happened here today.” He’d have to be out of his mind to follow these guys to a freezing mountain and torture himself with brutal training.
He’d much rather spend that time having a ‘deep, loving exchange’ with his precious Wanda.
Seeing Holden about to walk out, Stephen instinctively stepped forward to stop him, but Wong quickly grabbed his arm to hold him back.
“Mr.
Holden, if you ever decide you want to learn magic, our doors are always open!” Wong called out.
Hearing this, Holden paused, gave a polite nod, and finally left.
Even long after Holden had disappeared, Stephen stood frozen in disbelief.
“Well, Stephen, it looks like your natural charm just isn’t what it used to be,” Wong teased, barely suppressing a laugh.
“This has nothing to do with my charm!
He just doesn’t want to learn magic!” Stephen snapped, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat.
He was a top-tier genius; if the kid had any real ambition, there was no way he would have refused!
“He achieved the impossible completely by accident.
He learned a spell just by glancing at a page.” Wong looked up at the windows, feeling the lingering chill in the air with profound awe.
“We might have just encountered a peerless genius.
We need to report this to the Sorcerer Supreme immediately.” “Nothing escapes the Ancient One.” Stephen smiled faintly and shook his head.
“She probably already knows…” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS lestusk Creation is hard, cheer me up!