The following morning, I woke up earlier than usual. The soft light of dawn streamed through the residence's window, illuminating part of the room. I remained lying there for a few moments, staring at the ceiling while organizing my thoughts.
The experiments of the past few days had been far more successful than I had imagined.
The abbreviated incantations worked.
Wordless magic worked.
Using imagination to shape spells also worked.
The more I reflected on it, the more impressed I became with the man who had written that book.
When I bought that volume in the hot springs town, I had imagined I would find a few interesting theories or perhaps some ancient techniques forgotten by time.
I never imagined I would discover knowledge so advanced.
I got out of bed, got dressed, and headed to the main hall. Some of the girls were already awake. Elara was reading a book by the window. Lyannis was drinking tea while reviewing some notes she had made during the past few days of study.
When they saw me enter, both of them smiled.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
I sat down with them.
Naturally, the conversation returned to the ancient mage's book.
"I spent a good part of last night thinking about it."
Elara closed the book she was reading.
"I was thinking about it too."
Lyannis agreed.
"It's hard to believe someone developed all of this alone."
I nodded.
"The more I read, the more convinced I become that he was a true genius."
It wasn't just the knowledge.
It was the way he explained every concept.
Everything was clear.
Organized.
Logical.
Even extremely complex subjects were presented in a simple way.
That demonstrated not only intelligence, but also experience.
After breakfast, I decided to continue reading.
I was already approaching the final sections of the book.
I took the volume to a quiet area near the residence and continued through the remaining pages.
As I read, I discovered several accounts written by the author himself.
Small records of experiments he had carried out throughout his life.
Failures.
Mistakes.
Unsuccessful attempts.
Moments of success.
That made the reading even more interesting.
He did not present himself as someone perfect.
Quite the opposite.
He spoke naturally about his own failures.
In one passage, he described an attempt to create a spell capable of controlling storms.
According to him, the experiment failed so miserably that it ended up destroying half of the laboratory where he worked.
I couldn't help laughing to myself.
It was strange to imagine such a legendary figure making such ordinary mistakes.
But perhaps that was precisely what made his story so inspiring.
Some time later, Liriel appeared.
She sat down beside me.
"Still reading?"
"I want to finish it before we leave."
She looked at the book's cover.
"You talk about this mage a lot."
"Because he deserves it."
Liriel smiled faintly.
"Hearing that from you means a lot."
I closed the book for a moment.
"The more I learn about him, the more I admire what he accomplished."
"Why?"
I looked at the pages.
"Because he didn't limit himself to what already existed."
Liriel remained silent as I continued.
"Most people learn something and spend their entire lives repeating it. He did the opposite. He questioned everything."
The goddess nodded.
"That truly is rare."
We continued talking for a while.
We discussed magic.
Research.
How new knowledge comes into existence.
At one point, Liriel said something that made me reflect.
"Perhaps the reason he reached so far was precisely because he never accepted ready-made answers."
I spent a few seconds thinking about that.
Perhaps she was right.
Throughout history, many of the greatest advances had emerged in exactly that way.
Someone questioned something that everyone accepted as truth.
And then found a different answer.
After Liriel left, I returned to reading.
The following pages covered more advanced applications of the methods I had been studying.
Some of them were so complex that they would probably take months to master.
Even so, I made several notes.
I intended to study them carefully in the future.
By the time the sun was high in the sky, Elara, Lyannis, and even Liriel's assistant had arrived.
The group gathered once again.
I showed them some of the most interesting sections I had found.
The assistant was fascinated.
"This really seems like a treasure."
"I think so too."
Elara agreed.
"That book is probably worth far more than what you paid for it."
"Without a doubt."
I immediately remembered the old man who had sold me the volume.
The more I learned, the more I believed that the man had no idea of the true value of what he possessed.
Or perhaps he knew exactly what he was doing.
I still wasn't sure.
Either way, if I ever returned to the hot springs town and met him again, I would make sure to thank him.
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to training.
This time, I wasn't the only participant.
Elara also began practicing the shortened incantations.
Lyannis did the same.
Even the assistant decided to try some of the simpler techniques.
The results didn't take long to appear.
At first, there were a few mistakes.
Minor accidents.
Spells that came out weaker than expected.
Others that simply didn't work.
But as the attempts continued, progress began to appear.
Elara was the first to successfully use a shortened version of a spell with complete stability.
Soon afterward, Lyannis also succeeded.
The assistant took a little longer, but eventually achieved satisfactory results.
I watched everything with satisfaction.
The ancient mage's knowledge wasn't helping only me.
It was benefiting everyone around me.
That made it even more valuable.
When Scarlett and Rai'kanna showed up to watch the training, they found a very different scene.
Several magical experiments were taking place at the same time.
Small spheres of fire.
Currents of wind.
Fragments of earth.
Magical lights.
Scarlett watched everything for a few seconds.
Then she crossed her arms.
"It looks like you've created a magic academy."
Lyannis laughed.
"More or less."
Rai'kanna pointed at me.
"It's his fault."
"Why?"
"Because he found a book, and now everyone is studying."
I couldn't help laughing.
Perhaps she was right.
But no one seemed to mind.
Quite the opposite.
Everyone was enjoying themselves.
Over the previous few days, that book had become part of the group's routine.
A very productive routine, at that.
When night finally arrived, we returned inside the residence.
Dinner was peaceful.
We talked about the results achieved during training.
The techniques we had learned.
The possibilities for the future.
The assistant commented that she intended to continue practicing even after returning to her duties.
Liriel expressed interest in studying some of the concepts presented by the mage more deeply.
Elara and Lyannis also remained excited about their progress.
After the meal, I went to my room, bringing the book with me.
I sat down by the window.
The night sky was clear.
The stars shone above the mountains of the Kingdom of the Giants.
I opened once again some of the pages that had caught my attention the most.
This time, not to study.
Only to read them again.
As my eyes moved across the text, a feeling of respect grew within me.
That man had lived centuries ago.
His name had probably already been forgotten by most people.
His time had ended long ago.
Even so, his knowledge still lived on.
It continued helping people.
It continued changing lives.
Perhaps that was the true meaning of leaving behind a legacy.
Not wealth.
Not fame.
Not power.
But something capable of continuing to exist even after one's departure.
I slowly closed the book.
For the first time since I had acquired it, I felt that I was beginning to understand the true magnitude of what I was holding.
It wasn't just a magic book.
It was the result of an entire lifetime of study.
Decades of experimentation.
Countless mistakes and discoveries.
It was the intellectual inheritance of an extraordinary man.
As I placed the volume on the table beside my bed, I made a silent decision.
I would continue studying those teachings.
I would continue improving my abilities.
And I would do everything I could to use that knowledge in the right way.
Because after everything I had learned, one thing was certain.
The mage who wrote those pages truly deserved to be remembered as one of the greatest geniuses who had ever existed in that world.