Eleven o’clock at night was already quite late for wizards, who generally lacked a nightlife.
But for Tver, this was merely the start of his second reading session.
A habitual night owl, he routinely pulled out one of his books—*The Origins of Curse Magic*.
Returning home from Durmstrang, it seemed the only real difference was the location of his reading sessions.
Finally realizing this strange pattern, he decided to switch things up.
The Foley family’s library was quite extensive.
While it might not compare to the library at Hogwarts, where he was soon heading, it contained far more books on ancient magic.
This was because the family had become rather complacent in recent generations, no longer deeply studying magic.
Fortunately, they had never produced a squanderer, and the family business was thriving, so there were no signs of decline.
Tver left his bedroom.
The house was dead silent, save for a few candles still flickering in the hallway.
The study was not far from his bedroom—or rather, he had specifically chosen his bedroom for its proximity to the study.
Out of the three members of the Foley family, he was the only one who enjoyed reading.
A soft creak broke the silence.
The study door was rarely pushed open; over the past two years, only Jeff would occasionally enter to clean.
The room was larger than Tver’s bedroom and held far more books.
Two bookshelves—one large, one small—lined the left and right walls, packed with volumes of all shapes and sizes.
Consequently, the entire room smelled of old books, a scent like freshly cut vanilla, awaiting Tver’s arrival.
The books here fell into two categories: those written in English or Latin on the left bookshelf, and those recorded in Ancient Runes on the other side.
Tver had finished reading the first kind two years ago, so his target today was the books in Ancient Runes.
Durmstrang taught Ancient Runes, and many records of the Dark Arts were written in them.
It could also be said that compared to modern magic, ancient magic was more powerful and less conventional in its application, which was why it was often classified as the Dark Arts.
There were fewer books on this side, and they were noticeably more worn.
Some had lost their covers entirely, leaving their titles bare:
*The Four Elements of Magic*.
A very peculiar title.
The concept of elements did not hold true in this world.
Tver could use *Aguamenti* or the Fire-Making Spell, and the power of both depended entirely on his understanding of the magic.
In other words, though elements existed, they did not affect the casting of magic.
The idea of four elements was stranger still.
In the eyes of Muggles, the four elements were the ancient Greek scholars’ understanding of the world, believing it was composed of air, water, earth, and fire.
But in the eyes of wizards, that was a naive concept held by ancient wizards trying to comprehend the source of magic.
It was a mandatory exam question in Durmstrang’s History of Magic, something Tver had learned in his first year.
Thus, the presence of this book here piqued Tver’s curiosity.
*You have successfully caught my attention,* he thought.
The book was not thick, containing only a dozen or so pages.
Pulling the book out, Tver lit the candles in the study and sat down on the floor.
If this book turned out to be nonsense, he would simply put it back and choose another.
Flipping to the first page, indeed, it was written entirely in Ancient Runes, with some magical fluctuations lingering upon it.
It wasn’t that Ancient Runes could store magic for so long—that was impossible; after such a vast span of time, any stored magic would have dissipated long ago.
Rather, the magic on the page existed because certain ancient runes had the property of absorbing magic.
As Tver read, the book drew upon his own magic to protect itself from decay.
This was why books written in Ancient Runes could survive for so long.
Of course, this protection had its limits.
Tver paused briefly, searching his memory for his knowledge of Ancient Runes.
Because it did not contribute much to his combat power, he wasn’t particularly skilled in this area, treating it merely as a tool for reading.
Fortunately, the text before him was not complex.
“The casting of any magic involves no more than four principles: power, transformation of form, duration of effect, and speed of casting.”
“Power is called Earth; there is no construct in this world more solid and heavy than the vast ground.
The earth beneath your feet is no longer a constraint, but your loyal servant.
Every spell cast can carry the crushing weight of the earth.”
“Transformation is called Water; water has no fixed shape, taking form with but a thought.
Spells change in infinite ways, and their transformations are like water left to your shaping.
If you so desire, fire like water and earth like wind are entirely under your command.”
“Duration is called Fire; the fire of the soul, burning endlessly.
One who reaches this stage is no longer bound by a physical vessel, possessing a near-permanent soul.”
“Speed is called Wind; all things move with the wind, guided by the heart.
Those who achieve the pinnacle of this aspect can quicken their thoughts a hundredfold, returning to the very essence of magic.”
This was the first time Tver had ever encountered such a theory.
These four principles were like the absolute basics of the wizarding world.
Normally, all four aspects depended on a wizard’s understanding of a specific spell.
The deeper one’s understanding of a spell, the simultaneous improvement of speed, form, duration, and power would follow.
No one had ever thought of separating these four fundamentals to train them individually; that would be a pure waste of time.
But this book’s theory made it sound as though mastering one key principle could enhance that specific aspect of *all* spells, without needing to master each individual spell first.
It was like understanding that 1 plus 1 equals 2, and therefore naturally understanding that A plus A equals 2A.
But the problem was, in magic, 1 and A were completely different!
Intrigued, Tver continued to turn the pages.
However, the subsequent pages offered no explanations, nor did they mention how to bridge the gap in understanding between different spells.
It mostly expounded upon the power of these four aspects, even claiming that achieving the pinnacle of all four would allow one to shatter the bonds of time and space, becoming a god roaming the universe.
Tver instantly lost interest.
He decided this was basically a load of nonsense, filled with the crude and shallow understanding of magic held by ancient wizards.
If given to a History of Magic professor, it might serve as material for an exam question, but to him, it didn’t even qualify as light reading.
Yawning, he regretted wasting his time on this book.
It was better to just go back to bed.
He stood up, rubbing his slightly sore thighs.
The candles on the desk had gone out at some point, and sunlight was pouring through the window, casting a golden shroud over the room.
But Tver suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
He remembered clearly that he had only read one page attentively and merely skimmed the rest.
There was no way it could have taken him an entire night!
“Young master?” Jeff opened the study door at that moment, smiling happily upon seeing Tver.
“I couldn’t find you in your room.
I figured you’d be here in the study, but you must take care of your health—”
“Jeff, what time is it?” Tver searched his memories—an effortless task for a master of Legilimency.
Jeff blinked in surprise.
“It’s seven in the morning.
I get up at this time every day.”
Eight hours.
He had spent eight hours reading just a single page.
The last time he had felt this way was when his teacher had controlled his mind.
Back then, his thoughts had been incredibly sluggish, yet the knowledge his teacher imparted was deeply engraved in his mind, as if he had been born knowing the magic.
His mind had been controlled once again!
Tver picked up the book once more.
The title at the top had not changed, but a new line of text had appeared beneath it.
“This is a treasure of knowledge worthy of a lifetime of study.
I leave this line in hopes of the next person who can understand it.
— Rowena Ravenclaw.”