Is he teaching me magic?
Hailuot couldn't help but make that judgment in his heart.
Very likely!
Realizing this, Hailuot focused on the lesson and studied with concentration.
Hailuot had never been able to use Magic—not because he failed to understand it, but because he could not apply it. In fact, the Glory Oath Empire had a complete Magical System for teaching magic, and Magic Theory was required at every stage of education. A Top Student of the Imperial Royal Academy might not know how to cast Spells, but they would absolutely understand every process and underlying principle involved before casting one.
Hailuot absorbed the knowledge Laem taught without difficulty and combined it with what he already knew to gain new insights. When he occasionally interrupted Laem to offer his own views, the veteran Necromancer did not grow angry. Instead, he looked astonished.
Hailuot was also beginning to understand the advantage over other Players that his father had mentioned.
The magic of his world and the magic of the Heroes World shared the same foundations. His world's greatest magical achievements fell short of this world's, and far fewer people possessed Magical Talent. But rapid technological progress had allowed his world to explore magic at the microscopic level more deeply than this world.
The explosive growth of disciplines such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry stripped magic of its mystery. Even scholars with no Mana could achieve great things in Magic Theory.
His father was a self-taught Necromancer who had studied at home, giving him a natural advantage in learning this world's magic. Against Players who could only rely on skills to cast Spells, he held an overwhelming advantage.
Hailuot himself had a solid, systematic foundation in Magic Theory and had participated in the design of much Magical Architecture. Now, Laem's instruction produced something like a chemical reaction in him.
Hailuot was like a rich, untouched stretch of fertile soil. When Mage Laem planted the seeds of magic, they sprouted and grew at astonishing speed.
【You have accepted Master Laem's teaching and learned the spell "Mana Gathering" (a passive spell that collects free-floating Health or Death Energy to replenish your own Mana).】
【You have accepted Master Laem's teaching and learned the spell "Soul Language" (a Buff State spell that reduces casting speed while active; its effect depends on Magical Wisdom).】
【You have accepted Master Laem's teaching and learned the spell "Skeleton Summoning"（Number of skeletons summoned = Command Value ÷ 10; skeleton stat weighting is tied to Command Value and Necromancy Talent, and skeleton duration is tied to Magical Wisdom）】
【You have accepted Master Laem's teaching and learned the spell "Death Coil" (Offensive Magic).】
【You have accepted Master Laem's teaching and learned the spell "Soul Bastion"（Mental Protective Magic）】
【You have accepted Master Laem's teaching and learned the spell "Onslaught" (a command spell for Summoned Creatures that increases their movement speed and aggression; its effect depends on Command).】
One threshold of knowledge after another broke through, and one Magical Architecture after another took shape in Hailuot's mind. Each was an extremely complex, three-dimensional Spells model. Thin strands of Mana flowed calmly through the web-like Magical Energy circuits.
Hailuot felt as though he had been pushed into a magnificent Hall. Magic that he had previously been able to calculate and understand only on paper could now be reached out to and touched with his own hands.
"Such a... wondrous feeling."
Feeling the changes within his body, Hailuot exclaimed in amazement.
The Gray Elf Laem closed the book in his hands, stood up, and looked Hailuot in the eye. "I once discussed magic with a Soul Eater. Many of his insights into magic gave me a great deal of inspiration. Meeting you today, I've found that you both studied within the same Magical System, but your theoretical knowledge far surpasses his.
I believe your achievements in magic will one day surpass the Soul Eater's — and mine as well."
Hailuot knew that Laem regarded him as a mage of the same caliber as himself, but he still stepped back and bowed to Laem. "Surpassing the Soul Eater has always been my goal. Thank you for your teaching — this has been the most important lesson on my path of learning magic."
Laem accepted Hailuot's bow, then picked up a stack of manuscripts from the table and handed them to him. "Take these manuscripts and have them bound. I don't know how much longer I'll live, and I want to compile a summary of everything I've learned about magic before I die.
You'll be in charge of organizing the manuscript for me. It would be even better if you could write your own views into it."
Hailuot took the manuscripts and replied to Laem, "It would be my honor to help compile your magical notes. Though I don't think City Lord Dorothea currently intends to kill you — you may still have a chance to walk out of here alive."
"I don't trust Dorothea, and I don't trust the Soul Eater either. Trusting you is nothing more than a manner of speaking. From now on, you and I will only discuss magic — don't bring up anything else unrelated to magic again.
Do you understand?"
"As you say, Master Laem."
A smile spread across Laem's gaunt face. He said, "My Mana is sealed, and my energy is poor. That's enough for today. Come back at this time tomorrow to collect the manuscripts, and we'll revise them together."
Hailuot could tell that Laem was exhausted, so he bowed and took his leave. "See you tomorrow, Master Laem."
"See you tomorrow!"
Laem dragged his chains back to the corner, sat down, and closed his eyes. He soon entered a Meditative State.
Hailuot left the Prison Cell quietly.
He asked Bulaishini, who was waiting outside, "Master Laem asked me to help him bind his manuscript. Do you know where there's a print shop in Scorched Earth City?"
But Bulaishini gave Hailuot an odd look. "Master, these are Master Laem's manuscripts. If you have them printed, they will be ordinary notes. But if you bind them into a Spellbook, they will become a powerful Magical Item imbued with Mana.
Do you truly intend to bind something this precious as an ordinary book?"
Hailuot felt the manuscript in his hands grow heavier, each page like a slab of gold.
He asked Bulaishini, "Is that true? Can these manuscripts really become a Spellbook?"
Bulaishini said with certainty, "Master Laem is an extraordinarily learned and powerful Mage. City Lord Dorothea designed an elaborate trap and paid a heavy price to capture him. Several of the City Lord's Personal Guards died in that battle; otherwise, I would not have been added to the guard in the first place.
If someone turned the manuscript of such a legendary Master into a Spellbook, it would certainly contain immense power."
Hailuot knew Laem was strong, but he hadn't expected him to be strong to this degree.
"Master Laem's manuscripts cannot be bound as ordinary notes! Is there anywhere in Scorched Earth City where they can be made into a Spellbook?"
"There is — at 63 Tibia Street, in the Western District."