Although Lewis had already formed a hypothesis about the origin of this mysterious spellbook, he chose not to tell Jaina.
Instead, he began testing the emblem himself.
"Intellect?"
"Path of Intellect?"
"Nous?"
"It can't be… 'machine brain,' right?"
He tried several keywords in succession, but the book showed no reaction at all.
"That's strange…" Lewis frowned.
That symbol was clearly the emblem of Intellect from a certain turn-based game thirty years in the future.
"Unless…"
He narrowed his eyes, then deliberately lowered his voice, reciting in a solemn, almost chanting tone:
"The heavens conceal their secrets,
Numbers weave the roots of all things.
Yet it remains silent, like the mist at the heart of the cosmos;
Listen to the silence, and you shall know where the stars rest."
The moment the final word fell—
The emblem on the book erupted into dazzling light.
The entire spellbook snapped open.
A surge of immense magical power burst outward, sweeping through the room like a storm.
Jaina's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Y-you… how did you open it? That's not magic!"
But Lewis knew—
This was magic.
He finally understood why the book bore the emblem of Intellect, and why the "incantation" was that strange passage.
Because the one who left it behind…
Was most likely himself.
More precisely—
His future self.
The reason for choosing the Intellect emblem was simple: only he, a transmigrator, could recognize it.
Well… unless, by some absurd one-in-a-million chance, someone else from that same universe had also crossed into this world.
And the reason for choosing that specific passage as the key?
That was to eliminate even that one-in-a-million risk.
The words came from a famous trailer—an obscure, cryptic narration revealing the lore of cosmic entities.
Even the so-called "Nous" itself might not know that exact phrasing.
In other words, only Lewis could both recognize the emblem and recall the correct key.
At this point, the purpose of the book became clear.
This was a message—
A delivery from his future self to his present self.
The Harry Potter world didn't support large-scale time travel.
But the Warcraft world… did.
Most likely, his future self had used that loophole—traveling across worlds, placing the book into Jaina's hands, and ensuring it would eventually reach him.
Even so, Lewis didn't dare tell Jaina the truth.
Because she had already said it herself—
Her arrival in this world was tied to this book.
If she realized that the one responsible for dragging her away from her homeland for over a decade… was Lewis's future self—
She might turn hostile on the spot.
After all, when she left, her homeland had been on the brink of destruction.
If she ever returned… what would she find?
A ruined world? Dead friends? A lost past?
That was not something Lewis could risk explaining—not yet.
So instead, he gave a carefully chosen answer.
"I've seen this symbol while observing another world. It represents a deity of Intellect. That's how I thought of the incantation."
Jaina studied him closely.
His eyes were clear, sincere.
Every word he said… was technically true.
Just not the whole truth.
She nodded slowly.
"A god of Intellect… I see. That explains why the magic in this book feels so… different."
"In what way?" Lewis asked.
Jaina smiled.
"Why don't you open it and see for yourself?"
"Are you sure?" Lewis asked politely, even though he already suspected the book was meant for him.
"It is your book, after all."
"To a mage, knowledge is power," she replied calmly. "When I first obtained it, it chose me. Now it responds to you. That means it has chosen you as well."
"You have every right to read it."
"Then… I won't hold back."
Lewis straightened his posture and carefully turned the first page.
In that instant—
A torrent of knowledge flooded his mind.
Magic. Structure. Theory. Understanding.
Everything surged forward at once.
His perception of magic deepened instantly.
His mastery rose.
Spells unfolded before him like blooming stars—
Counterspell.
Misty Step.
Dimension Door.
Teleportation.
Even more—
A seed.
A seed of something far greater.
A demiplane.
Lewis exhaled slowly.
"…That's it?"
It sounded ridiculous.
The gains were overwhelming.
Two full levels of growth.
Multiple high-tier spells.
A legendary artifact capable of creating an entire independent space.
By any reasonable standard, this was an absurd windfall.
And yet—
Lewis felt dissatisfied.
Because the most important thing was missing.
There was no message.
No explanation.
No guidance from his future self.
He had expected at least a clue.
Instead—
Just power.
"Which means…" Lewis narrowed his eyes slightly.
"This book isn't meant to tell me anything."
"It's meant to do something… at the right moment."
He leaned back, deep in thought.
He was certain of one thing—
There was more to this book.
Something critical.
Something hidden.
Otherwise, his future self would never have gone through so much trouble to send it back.
But what exactly?
He had no answer.
And that was the most frustrating part.
Being outplayed by someone…
Who was also himself.
"Damn riddlers…"
Lewis muttered under his breath.
Then paused.
"…Wait."
"Oh."
"…Right."
"The riddler is me."
"…Then it's fine."
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