The morning after my meeting with the Giant Princess, I woke up feeling that the past few days had been productive in many ways. The lands were prospering, the residents seemed satisfied, and the problems that had once required constant attention were now becoming increasingly under control.
Even so, there was something that occupied a large part of my thoughts.
The Ancient Mage's book.
Ever since I bought it in the hot spring city, that book had been completely changing the way I viewed magic.
First came the abbreviated incantations.
Then the methods for reducing the activation time of spells.
Now there was something even more impressive.
The use of magic without a single word.
Without chants.
Without commands.
Without sounds.
Only imagination, control, and mana.
After finishing breakfast, I picked up the book and went to an open area near the residence.
The place was spacious and far enough away to avoid problems if any experiment went wrong.
I took the book with me and sat beneath the shade of a tree.
Before attempting anything, I decided to reread the passage several times.
The mage explained everything in a surprisingly simple way.
According to him, words had never truly been necessary.
Chants served only as a tool.
A way to help the brain organize the flow of mana.
A kind of guide.
However, as a mage became more experienced, those tools could be abandoned.
The true objective was to imagine the spell so clearly that thought itself completely replaced words.
I closed the book for a few moments.
It sounded simple in theory.
In practice, it would probably be much more difficult.
Even so, I wanted to try.
I stood up and walked to an empty area.
I took a deep breath.
Normally, when using fire magic, I would say the keyword I had learned through the abbreviated method.
This time would be different.
This time, I wouldn't say anything.
I closed my eyes.
I began to visualize a small flame appearing in the palm of my hand.
I imagined the heat.
Its shape.
Its glow.
The movement of the fire.
I tried to reproduce every detail.
At the same time, I directed mana into my hand.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then I opened my eyes.
My palm was still empty.
I sighed.
"It wasn't going to be that easy."
I tried again.
This time with greater concentration.
I imagined the flame once more.
The structure of the spell.
The mana being compressed.
The fire taking shape.
Once again, nothing happened.
I continued.
Attempt after attempt.
Mistake after mistake.
Time passed slowly.
Sometimes I could feel the mana reacting.
Other times, absolutely nothing happened.
Even so, I didn't give up.
If that mage had managed to master it eight hundred years ago, then there was no reason for me to abandon the idea so quickly.
After nearly an hour of practice, I finally felt a change.
The mana responded differently.
A tiny spark appeared for a brief instant above my hand.
It appeared and disappeared almost immediately.
But it appeared.
I smiled.
"So it works."
That was enough to prove I was on the right path.
I continued training.
A little while later, I heard footsteps approaching.
When I looked back, I saw Elara walking toward me.
She was carrying a book under her arm.
"Training again?"
"More or less."
She looked at the book lying beside me.
"Is it about that chantless method?"
I nodded.
"I want to see how far I can go."
Elara stepped closer.
"Is it working?"
"Slowly."
She smiled.
"That's already better than not working."
I couldn't disagree.
I explained everything I had discovered up to that point.
She listened carefully.
When I finished, she crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"If this really works, it could change a lot."
"I thought the same thing."
In battle, even a single second could decide victory or defeat.
Eliminating chants entirely was something incredibly valuable.
After talking for a few minutes, I decided to return to my experiments.
Elara stayed to watch.
This time, I tried something different.
Instead of imagining only the final result, I began visualizing the entire process.
The mana being gathered.
The energy being shaped.
The element taking form.
The construction of the spell.
It was like assembling a structure piece by piece inside my mind.
The reaction was immediate.
A small flame appeared above my hand.
This time, it remained stable.
It didn't disappear.
I watched it for a few seconds.
Then I smiled.
"I did it."
Elara gave a faint smile.
"Congratulations."
The flame continued burning.
Small.
Stable.
Controlled.
It was something simple.
But extremely important.
A little later, I dispelled the spell.
My excitement had grown.
Now I was certain the method was real.
As we continued talking, other people began to appear.
Liriel was one of the first.
Soon after came Lyannis.
Even Liriel's assistant showed up to watch.
I explained what I was trying to do.
The reactions varied.
Lyannis became curious.
Liriel seemed impressed.
Her assistant showed genuine surprise.
"So you're using magic without saying anything?"
"I'm trying to."
"That's incredible."
Liriel stepped a little closer.
"May I see?"
I nodded.
I concentrated my mana once more.
This time, I created a small sphere of fire.
Without words.
Without special movements.
Using only my imagination.
The sphere slowly appeared above my hand.
It wasn't perfect.
But it was real.
The assistant's eyes widened.
"It worked."
"It worked."
Even I was still impressed.
Liriel observed the magic for a few seconds.
Then she smiled.
"That mage truly was extraordinary."
"I think so too."
The more I studied that book, the more I realized how far ahead of his time its author had been.
Many of the theories seemed absurd at first glance.
But when put into practice, they worked.
We spent much of the morning discussing magic.
Liriel shared some of her knowledge about mana manipulation.
Lyannis offered her own interpretations.
Elara analyzed several concepts found in the book.
Even the assistant joined the discussion.
It was rare to have so many people gathered discussing the same subject.
And somehow, that made everything even more interesting.
When lunchtime arrived, we temporarily interrupted our studies.
After the meal, I decided to return to my training.
This time alone.
I wanted to better understand the limits of that technique.
Throughout the afternoon, I continued practicing.
I started with simple spells.
Then I moved on to more complex structures.
Some worked.
Others failed completely.
But the progress was visible.
By the end of the afternoon, I was already able to create small spells without using words.
It still required concentration.
It still demanded more mental effort than traditional methods.
But it worked.
And that was what mattered most.
As I watched a small sphere of light floating before me, I remembered the Ancient Mage's words.
He had written that true mastery of magic began when a mage no longer depended on words.
The first time I read that, I thought it was an exaggeration.
Now, I wasn't so sure.
Perhaps he was right.
Perhaps that really was the next step.
When the sun began disappearing beyond the horizon, I finally ended my training.
My body wasn't tired.
But my mind was.
Manipulating mana that way required far more concentration than I had imagined.
I carefully put the book away.
I looked at the reddish sky.
Then at my own hands.
The feeling was strange.
I had learned many things since arriving in that world.
Sword techniques.
Combat.
Strategy.
Magic.
But that method felt different.
It felt like a doorway to something new.
Something greater.
As I walked back toward the residence, a certainty began to form within me.
The Ancient Mage's book wasn't merely a collection of theories.
It was a true legacy.
And I was still only beginning to understand everything it had to teach.
With that thought, I passed through the gates of the estate and headed inside the house, already wondering what other secrets those ancient pages still held.