It was like building a plastic model kit—if you follow the instructions and use the right parts, anyone could make the same model, even if the final quality might differ a bit.
So then, what was "sorcery"?
Sorcery was the ability to make something happen instantly, without having to go through those steps. Not only were the procedures used in magic completely skipped, but for some reason, the power itself became even stronger.
...To be honest, Li Shen didn’t fully understand just from hearing the explanation. So they decided to show him in person.
The demonstration required two very important people: the Emperor of the Goa’uld Empire—Somnus—and the head of the Ministry of Magic, Rhitahtyn. There was also the chief attendant, who had come to assist and prepare tea.
Li Shen hadn’t learned all the details yet, but apparently Somnus was an extremely rare sorcerer and a disciple of the legendary "Dominator of Arcane Magic." That alone made him very special.
The place chosen for the demonstration was a remote corner of an unfinished garden, just in case something went wrong.
Li Shen apologized to both Somnus and Rhitahtyn for making them go along with something like this, but truthfully, he was thrilled.
It was his first time seeing real magic and sorcery, and he was beyond excited.
In the end, he was very satisfied with what he saw.
First up was Rhitahtyn, the head of the Ministry of Magic.
He said he mainly specialized in magic tools and considered himself more of a technical worker.
However, according to a certain muscular and charming marshal of the Imperial Army, Rhitahtyn was one of the top-class magic combat experts across the three continents. Depending on the situation, he could even fight evenly with a sorcerer for short periods of time—a real powerhouse.
So, Li Shen asked him to show something simple, and Rhitahtyn created a small flame at his fingertip.
Just before the flame appeared, a faint red glowing geometric circle floated at the tip of his finger.
It was that familiar fantasy-style magic circle!
Apparently, when a human tried to use magic by activating their inner magic power, a magic circle appeared automatically.
The shape and glow of the circle depended on the type of magic and the amount of energy used.
When the circle lit up fully, the intended effect appeared in the real world.
That was the "procedure" behind magic.
"So then what about sorcery?" Li Shen asked Somnus to show him next.
For some reason, Somnus suddenly went completely expressionless—like he was wearing a Noh mask. Then he raised his right hand above his head and pointed upward...
BOOM!!
With no warning at all, a huge pillar of fire burst from his fingertip!
It was wide enough to fit two grown men side by side and easily over three meters tall.
The fire disappeared instantly, but the lingering heat shimmered in the air around them.
Somnus, as calm as ever, gave a quiet excuse.
"I’m not good at controlling it. Even you gave up on teaching me..."
So even a seemingly perfect superhuman like Somnus had weaknesses!
That actually made Li Shen feel a little better.
Somnus’s human after all... yeah, that makes sense.
While Li Shen was feeling oddly comforted by that, Sarius began explaining.
According to him, the way magic circles appeared during spells was already somewhat understood.
He said something about "visualizing the interference between internal and natural magic particles," but Li Shen decided to skip the long list of technical terms.
It was way too much to process.
But when it came to sorcery, it still wasn’t clearly understood. For some reason, the way inner magic power interacted with outer magic seemed to follow a different process than regular magic. That’s what people believed.
Because of that, those who could use sorcery were extremely rare throughout history.
There were even times when people thought they were just characters from fairy tales.
That was, until Del Delatia, Dominator of Arcane Magic appeared on the world stage.
Still, even back when Li Shen had been himself—before all of this—he had mostly relied on instinct when it came to sorcery.
Even as Somnus’s teacher, it seemed Li Shen had never explained clearly why or how sorcery could be used.
So how had Somnus learned it?
If someone he cared about stared at him with eyes like a dead fish and asked, "Do you really want to know? Are you sure you want to know? You won’t regret it?"—Li Shen, being the coward he was, probably wouldn’t have been able to say yes. He would’ve just shaken his head.
After learning the basic differences between magic and sorcery, Li Shen started borrowing books on magic from Somnus and Rhitahtyn.
From the next day on, he spent a lot of time reading.
His injuries still hadn’t healed—especially the damage to his so-called "magic circuits." That wasn’t something that could be fixed easily.
Even if it was just a basic spell meant for children, Somnus made him promise very seriously never to try it.
Not even once.
Still, Li Shen hoped that maybe, someday, he’d be able to use magic again.
So for now, he was just trying to build up his knowledge.
After all, he had once been someone considered almost god-like.
If he had power again, maybe he could actually be useful to Somnus. And besides that, there was something else—he just couldn’t settle down.
It was like something inside his head was constantly stirring. Like a low, buzzing unease.
Yes—if he couldn’t use sorcery, it felt like everything he had done would lose its meaning...
Ah, right. He already knew that. But still—even so—because of that, Li Shen wanted to stay by Somnus’s side.
And so, he needed power—
"Li Shen."
"...Huh? What... Somnus?"
When he realized what was happening, Li Shen found himself lying on the sofa in the usual room that was now glowing orange with the light of sunset.
Somnus was beside him, he brushing back his hair gently while watching him with concern.