While going through the collection, he also stumbled upon the personal notes of horned basilisk.
There were six large boxes filled mostly with her diaries, which surprisingly contained a lot of details related to the club's activities.
However, when it came to the personal magic research Alex was most curious about, the notes were quite sparse.
Unlike talented wizards like Phoenix and Thunderbird, horned basilisk didn't have much original magic work of her own.
Nearly all the spells she mastered, including the gravity spell that fascinated Alex the most, were learned from others rather than invented by herself.
After carefully studying the related information, Alex discovered that its rune structure is incredibly complex, making it very difficult to master.
Since Alex is already skilled in spellcasting, he took a closer look at the runes composing the [Gravity] spell and realized that its fundamental runes belong to the [Control] category.
This means gravitational magic is actually an advanced form of the 'Control System' spells.
To learn it, one must have at least an 'Instinct Level' proficiency or higher in Control magic, which sets a very high entry bar.
For someone like Alex, however, this wasn't a problem.
After about ten minutes of focused study, he managed to manipulate gravity around himself, effortlessly floating in midair.
He thought, 'Gravity magic feels like an evolved version of the Levitation Charm. It suits me perfectly.
But unlike just moving upwards, it allows control in multiple directions and uses magic power very efficiently. With some more research, I can engrave this into my flying cloak, which should boost my speed to a whole new level.'
Alex was pleased with the [Gravity Spell].
Thanks to his strong proficiency in Control magic, with a bit of practice, this could become one of his signature spells.
Once he finished studying the Gravity, he pulled out an exquisitely crafted thread-bound book from horned basilisk's personal information box.
Unlike the typical Western-style books in the library, this one had a unique paper texture and binding style, reminding Alex of ancient Eastern Mansucript.
"Arcana of Eastern Arcana? Could this be a Eastern magic book?" Alex wondered, running his fingers over the delicate cover.
Horned Basilisk had carefully stored it in an ornate small box, which showed just how valued this book was.
Opening the ancient tome, Alex noticed a yellowed parchment tucked beneath the cover, clearly very old.
He picked it up and saw it was a diary written in ancient runes.
It detailed the story of how horned basilisk had acquired the book.
The entry read:
"Today, the club met a powerful challenger named 'Chen,' an Eastern wizard who has traveled to Europe. We all found him very intriguing."
"Beaumont stepped up to challenge him to a duel, but he ended up losing completely. The rest of us felt a bit embarrassed, after all, it seemed unfair to let a stranger come to Europe and easily defeat one of our own."
"However, after several more challenges, we were all stunned by Chen's incredible power. The magic he used was unlike anything we had ever seen."
"Even when we fought him together, we couldn't gain the upper hand. He could create clones of himself and cast spells simultaneously."
"Frustrated by this humiliation, I suggested to Beaumont that we use the Avada Kedavra curse to take Chen down, but Beaumont refused, calling my idea shameless."
"He reminded me that no one said the winner of a duel had to be decided by any means necessary. I felt ashamed, maybe the pressure of our long streak of victories made me think that way."
"So, I decided to apologize to Chen, and to my surprise, he was very kind outside the duel."
"That encounter led to a friendship between Chen and us."
"He shared that back in his homeland, secret education and passing down knowledge were taken very seriously."
"His school, the Eastern Academy of Secret Arts, was hidden in a secluded place called the Secret Realm, which explained why his magic was so unfamiliar to us."
"Chen was actually quite unhappy with how closed-off and secretive his school was, so he left his sect, which was basically his magic school."
"After leaving the East, he traveled for years, seeking out and learning different magic from other wizards, eventually mastering them all."
"Chen told us that his dream was to return home and open a magic school free from sectarian divisions."
"In the East, magic is often called 'secret arts.' Everyone, including me, was inspired by Chen's vision."
"After discussing it, we decided to open up our club's collection and teach him the secrets of Western magic."
"Chen was deeply moved by our generosity and, in return, gifted us the arcana of Eastern Secret Arts."
"During that time, we exchanged magical knowledge with Chen, and each of us learned a great deal."
"It was truly the happiest time I've ever spent in the club."
Alex admired and was fascinated by the magic left behind by 'Chen,' but he knew that Chen's secret magic was so deep and complex that most people in the club couldn't even understand it.
In fact, some members had spent a lot of time learning Eastern culture just to study it.
Compared to others in the club, Alex recognized his own talents were limited.
Without relying on his family's gravity magic, he probably wouldn't have even made it into the silver wand.
But this clear self-awareness only made him more determined to study harder.
After mastering one of the spells from the arcana of secret arts, his perspective on the 'rebirth draught' changed.
He wondered if having that magic could help reduce the potion's side effects as much as possible.
These thoughts came from a note written by Goodwin Nicklaus, almost like a personal journal.
Reading that note gave Alex a clearer understanding of where the strange magic in horned basilisk's hands came from.
It wasn't local magic at all; most of it had been imported.
Aside from the gravity spell, the rest seemed to come from this mysterious source called the arcana of clearing the origin of mystic arts.
Naturally, this made Alex even more curious about the contents of the "Arcana of Mystic Arts."
Nodding quietly, he eagerly opened the ancient book.
Both the images and the text were in Eastern characters, but since Alex had spend some time in eastern in his previous life, he found it easy to read.
Scattered throughout the pages were sticky notes, annotations and comments left by horned basilisk himself.
It was clear that he had put a lot of effort into studying the book as well.
As Alex delved deeper, he recognized many of the spells he had seen either in horned basilisk or the club.
For instance, the 'Subterreo' he once used to drill through a wall actually came from this book.
In the "Arcana," this magic was called Earthglide Charm, and it allowed the caster to pass freely through solid materials like earth and rock.